The Back Stories Of The Village Of Sin
by Spyderjsr
Summary: The Battle of Tarawa creek blazes across the fields between the fire and thunder countries as the war between the leaf and cloud rages on at its climax. Amongst the soldiers, stands Akira Toshida a man that history would later remember as, The Butcher
1. Akira Kunashiro, Servant Of The Cloud

_**The Toshida Gaiden Part One - Akira Kunashiro**_

_(Authors Note: These next few chapters will be posted in the Village of Sin section and moved later into a separate story which will be strictly back stories for this fic. The main storyline will continue after the gaiden chapters are over. So enjoy, and I hope all the pieces start to fall into place, so pay attention! And thanks for reading!)_

Akira Toshida sits perched upon a low hanging branch over looking a calm and clear pond in the middle of the leaf village. He sits watching the sun set over the horizon, creating a beautiful collage of colours, that are only doubled with the reflection off of the water. Most people would be able to find humbling peace sitting before such a beautiful sight. But Toshida sits, alone and as stoic as ever. He turns his attention to the Leaf Jounin Hatake Kakashi, who has just asked Toshida to tell him the tale of his origin, from his birth, to the battle of Tarawa Creek, all the way up until his arrival in the leaf village.

"Start at the beginning, and tell me everything kid." Kakashi says as he takes a seat on a log that lays parallel to the tree Toshida has perched on.

"Very well Kakashi. I will tell you everything. You are the first one to hear my autobiography I suppose. Feel honoured, who knows it may make a great novel someday." Toshida says as he cracks a smile over his stoic face. "I was told that the Raikage had told Tsunade-sama about my father and about where I came from, is this correct?"

Kakashi nods, "Yea, from what I hear your father was a traitor that tried to kill the Raikage."

Toshida laughs whole heartedly to himself, "I am afraid that is certainly a lie. My father was many things, a warrior, a swordsman, a bastard, an asshole and a poor family man, but he wasn't a traitor."

"My father's name was Akira Kunashiro. He was born in the Thunder Country to parents who I was never told about. He grew up in the hidden cloud village and was trained as a shinobi. He was a natural genius, and was as brilliant as he was deadly. I was never told much of my father's childhood. The earliest tale I was told of him was when he was roughly 23 years old, and was close to the completion of a mission ordered to him directly from the Raikage himself. The Raikage back then was a young Yamato Dake."

Kakashi pauses as he remembers the name of the Raikage. _"Hmm, Yamato Dake is still the Raikage to this day. He has remained in power in the Cloud village for more than 20 years now."_

"My father was on a mission given to him directly from the Raikage and he was in the midst of completing it . . ."

The scene changes to the dark hallways of a large deluxe suite located in a small merchant community on the southern outskirts of the thunder country, roughly 18 years ago. It is 2am and there is a large and portly man walking in his bath robe from the bath house in the adjacent room, into his bedroom. The man's name is Muntanagi, a wealthy kingpin of the thunder country's black market. The man has made a fortune over the last few years, selling weapons and other materials to insurgents in the thunder country, hoping to lead a rebellion and overthrow the current Raikage.

The man is a fat glutenous man, with a beard that flows down to his chest, and a receding hairline that has been badly covered up by a poorly done comb over. The man walks into his bedroom where he has enlisted the services of several female escorts for the evening. All of the women are young, likely under the age of consent, and all drunk on sake.

As the man continues on his way into the room waddling from side to side with a bottle of sake in hand he smiles and laughs, revealing a disgusting grin of brown and yellow teeth. "Well, well, well. I suppose I am in for a treat this evening aren't I? Or maybe it is my birthday and I simply forgot!"

The hired escorts continue laughing amongst each other, too drunk to be repulsed by the sickening man standing before them. The night goes on as Muntanagi had hoped and after a while he retires to his bed and sends the escorts home. Muntanagi is so completely oblivious to his surroundings likely due to a combination of alcohol, lack of sleep, and a possible overload of testosterone, that he does not even notice the shadowy figure that has bridged himself against the two walls of the narrow hallway leading from the bath house to the bedroom. The shadowy figure is wearing a full black shinobi outfit with no opening, save the one over his eyes, and he is spread out just centimetres from the ceiling, his legs bracing against the wall and his hands doing the same.

The fat arms dealer yawns as he walks to the bathroom before heading to bed. The shadowy figure moves with the utmost stealth as he moves from the hallway and into the bedroom. With one motion, the shinobi leaps from the floor spreading his legs into a perfect split and bridges himself just above the frame of the door, and readies a kunai, clutched in both hands raised just over his head.

Muntanagi finishes his business in the washroom (leaving the door open the entire time) and returns to his bedroom, moving with the speed and grace of a sleepy horse, knocking over things in his path as he had forgot to leave the light on after he left the bedroom. He staggers around, blind as a bat as he reaches for the light switch on the other side of the door. Only a second after flipping the light switch, the shadowy shinobi swings from his perch, stabbing Muntanagi in the chest with his kunai. The shinobi twists his lower body and drops safely to the floor without making a sound, twisting the kunai in Mutanagi's chest and covering his mouth in the process to prevent the man from screaming.

The balding fat man drops to his knees dead and then to the floor, bleeding profusely from his wound. As the shadowy shinobi removes the kunai from the dead man's chest, he looks around the room searching for the information he has been sent to intercept. He notices a set of scrolls, sitting on the bed side table and he quickly moves to investigate, cleaning his kunai with a white towel in the process. The shinobi searches through all of the scrolls, numbering about ten or so until he finds the one that he needs.

"Got it!" The shinobi says silently. He places the scroll in a pouch on the back side of his belt. Before the shinobi can do anything else, he hears the front door slide open and can see one of the hired escorts walk into the room.

"Sorry Muntanagi-sama, I forgot my makeup kit . . ." The young woman pauses for a second as she notices Muntanagi's body laying in a pool of his own blood, and the dark shinobi standing over him. She then lets out a blood curdling scream as she realizes what has happened, but her scream lasts only a few seconds as the dark shinobi side arm throws his kunai that hits the young women right between the eyes, killing her instantly and sending her to the ground.

The shinobi moves over quickly to the girls body, removing the kunai embedded in her skull, _"Shit! I gotta get out of here fast!"_

The shinobi cannot react fast enough, as the door slides open again with four of Muntanagi's bodyguards entering the room all armed with different weapons. One carries two polearms (a wooden baton with a sharp blade at the end), the other a large naginata (a spear like weapon with a curved blade, good for slashing as well as stabbing) and the other two carry katanas.

"Muntanagi-sama, Are you all right?" One of the guards shouts before noticing his employer's corpse on the floor. The guard notices the shinobi standing in the room and he draws his sword ready to attack. "Who are you? You are under arrest!"

The four guards charge at the shinobi with their weapon's draw, ready to avenge their former master. The shadowy shinobi readies himself for the encounter, reaching over his shoulder and clutching a silver trimmed handle and pulling out the very same blade that is brandished by Toshida. He readies the sword at his right side and raises his left hand in the seal of a half ram bringing it up to his lips and closing his eyes. When he opens his eyes, he charges toward the four guards and readies his attack.

"**_KIRIGESSHOKU NO MAI!" (Dance of the Moonlight Fog) _**The shinobi leaps into the air and with a quick spin, his body then miraculously disappears as it disperses into a dark black fog that completely fills the room and temporarily blinds the guards.

"What the hell? Where did he go?"

The guards stagger about in the thick fog trying to locate the missing shinobi. As they turn about blind in the fog, one of them notices a silhouette speed by them like a blur. The guard swipes his katana, but hits nothing but air. Before he can make another attempt, the fog behind him begins to swirl around, and the body of the assassin spins out of the fog and strikes the guard with his sword, slicing him across the throat before he makes another pirouette and disappears back into the fog. The guard falls to the ground clutching his throat and he eventually bleeds to death after a few minutes.

The next target for the assassin is the guard with the polearms, who has his weapons crossed in front of him in a defensive position. He never even hears the shinobi coming as the fog directly in front of the guard begins to churn and the shinobi emerges. The guard catches only a glimpse of the shinobi storming out of the darkness, before he too is struck down with a slash from the shinobi's sword.

The final two guards come face to face with one another and the two take a defensive stance placing their backs against one another. Once again it is to no avail as the shinobi drops down from only a metre above them, striking the katana wielding shinobi with a back heel kick, that clubs the guard across the back of the neck, sending him to the ground. At the same time, the shinobi stabs the guard armed with the naginata, straight in the back, impaling the guard's heart with one swift blow. The fog begins to dissipate as the guard starts to rise to his feets and the first thing he sees is the shinobi walking toward him with the remnants of the black fog swirling back into the shinobi's body. The guard tries to back away, but cannot move fast enough as the shinobi lobs off the guard's head with one quick swipe of his sword.

"This guy should have hired some better help." The shinobi says to himself, just before he makes a run for the window behind the bed in Muntanagi's bedroom. The shinobi leaps through the window and falls to the ground several stories below. As soon as he lands the shinobi takes off at high speed, leaving the scene in a hurry before he can be discovered, taking the documents he was sent to acquire along with him.

The next morning the shinobi has returned to the village of the hidden cloud to report into the Raikage. The shinobi walks through the streets of the village which is coloured with numerous shades of blue and white. The architecture is much different then the leaf village's, as many of the buildings share a similar rounded shape, separating each level of the building like the different levels of some large snowman. The roofs share the same kind of tiling as apparent with most other villages with the exception of the roofs having three corners instead of four, and white tiles instead of yellow.

The townspeople mostly seem to be dressed in thick layered clothing, as the weather is slightly below freezing. There is a calm wind blowing through the air as the shinobi reaches the palace of the Raikage. The palace sits atop a natural rock formation that brings its top levels high enough that they actually touch the clouds. The path to the Raikage's palace is marked by chalky white marble roads, bordered by eight large copper statues, that show the visage of the previous Raikage's of the cloud village. As the shinobi reaches the doors to the palace, he notices a construction crew working on a new statue that stands just off to the left side of the large red doors that mark the entryway to the Raikage's palace. The new statue will be erected to honour the newly appointed Raikage, whom the shinobi has been sent to meet.

The shinobi enters the large red doors and walks toward an open fire that is set in the middle of the large open room. As the shinobi reaches the open fire, he removes his mask and begins to warm his hands over the warm flame. The shinobi has long straight black hair that runs just down to his shoulders, and a light goatee in the midst of roughly three days of growth. The shinobi looks up from the fire as he notices another set of doors opens in front of him. A cloud village jounin walks out from the doors and calls to the shinobi.

"Akira Kunashiro, the Raikage will see you now." The jounin says as he holds the door open for Kunashiro.

"Yes sir." Kunashiro says, as he walks toward the large open doors. The shinobi enters another large room decorated with all sorts of decorative weapons and suits of armour.

The Raikage sits at the back of the room on top of a large blue throne like chair, garnished with a gold trim. The Raikage sits with four other special jounins that remain at his side at all times. The Raikage is a young man, roughly 28 years old, however his followers are much older, and all of them follow him without question. The Yamato Dake was selected from a panel of candidates to be Raikage for reasons that were never disclosed. He came from a wealthy family whose name is well known throughout the thunder country for being honourable and powerful shinobi.

"Ah yes, Come in Kunashiro. I am interested to hear how your latest mission went." The Raikage says as he rises from his chair to greet the shinobi. "I have heard great things from my cohort here. Isn't that right Shin?"

One of the special jounins at the Raikage's left side nods in approval. (The jounin known as Shin, would later be killed by Toshida in an effort to infiltrate the Wave Country Tournament)

"Thank you Raikage-sama." Kunashiro sits crossed legged on the floor in front of the Raikage as he tells his leader of his mission. "I acquired the documents you requested and erased the target you ordered."

The Raikage's entourage looks on in shock at Kunashiro's announcement. "You mean to tell me you made it to the merchant town, snuck into Muntanagi's suite, stole the documents and assassinated him, and still managed to return to the village without a scratch? And all in less then twenty-four hours?" Shin says, almost dumfounded.

"Yes, sir." Kunashiro says still showing no expression whatsoever.

"This is marvellous." The Raikage exclaims, "What an outstanding shinobi you have brought to my attention Shin. It is a shame that the other members of the village council have been reassigned, and cannot see you here, such an excellent example of a true Cloud village ninja. You are indeed an excellent tool . . . to use as I see fit Kunashiro, are you not?"

"Yes Raikage-sama. I assure you my loyalties lie to you and to you alone, and I will serve you until I take my last breath."

"I hope so Kunashiro," The Raikage sits back down in his throne and grabs a large goblet that sits on top of a side table next to his thrown. "Because I assure you that I am no more lenient than any of the previous Raikage's. I will continue to use you for your services and I want your word that you will serve no other. You are mine, and I own you until I see fit to release you. Is that understood?"

"Yes Raikage-sama. I serve only you, the one who has dominion over my homeland." Kunashiro, then solemnly bows before the Raikage and rises to his feet. "With your permission, I will take my leave of you Raikage-sama."

"I only wish more of my shinobi were as willing to fight and die for me as you are Kunashiro." The Raikage rises from his chair and begins to walk toward his private chamber. "Kunashiro, will you accompany me to my chamber?"

Kunashiro nods his head and follows the Raikage into his chamber which is marked by a single door marked with a golden border with a seal written over the lock of the door, preventing anyone other then the Raikage from entering. The Raikage bits down on his thumb, drawing blood, and wipes it across the seal causing it to quickly burst into flames and dissipate into the air releasing the seal. The Raikage enters the small room which is lit by a single candle on a desk in the middle of the room. The Raikage walks to the desk after grabbing a set of scrolls off of a bookshelf on the left side of the room, and takes a seat in the desk's chair.

"I have another mission for your Kunashiro." The Raikage says, surprising the loyal shinobi. "This mission will be of the highest secrecy. You will be given the location and information of your three targets. And I expect that the target will be taken care of within in the next 72 hours. I want it done quietly, and with no witnesses. And I want you to send reports on your progress after every target is taken care of"

"I understand Raikage-sama. Who are the targets?"

"That information is not for you to know. Simply go in and take care of it quickly. If anyone notices you, or if you are taken prisoner, I will deny any knowledge of your existence. Got it?"

"If I am taken prisoner Raikage-sama, I will kill myself without a second thought." Kunashiro says without so much as a flinch.

"Hmpf. That is the answer I wanted to hear Kunashiro. Now, I want you to leave as soon as possible and take whatever provisions you require. But I ask that you leave your sword behind. The sword of **_Murakakumo (Village of the Clustering Clouds)_** is a very recognizable blade. Many of the more superstitious shinobi, believe that the "beast" that wields the mythical blade kills all those that even catch a glimpse of it. Where did you acquire it anyway?"

"I obtained the sword after a pilgrimage in my youth that led me to find it in the Temple of Atsuta located in the southern part of the Thunder Country."

"By pilgrimage, you mean a mission right?" The Raikage says.

"Yes, Raikage-sama. I was sent to invade the temple after it was discovered that some mercenaries were planning a coup against the Daimyo, and were using the temple as a hidden base of operations. I was sent to flush them out, and when I did, I discovered one of the artifacts that the temple was erected to protect. So after I was finished disposing of the mercenaries, I took the sword as a prize. It has served me well ever since."

"Interesting. I heard that blade also has a twin somewhere in the hidden grass village. Is that true?"

"I believe so, Raikage-sama." Kunashiro says as he removes his sheath from his back. "The sword of Kusanagi I believe it was called. Although I cannot imagine another blade being as sturdy as this one." Kunashiro hands the blade to the Raikage and in exchange, takes the scroll detailing his target.

"Remember Kunashiro. I want the first man eliminated in 24 hours. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Kunashiro then leaves the Raikage's chamber and continues out of the Raikage's palace.

The Raikage reseals the door and proceeds to watch Kunashiro leave his presence. _"Excellent. Kunashiro will not fail. I only hope that he is smart enough to keep his mouth shut and not ask questions. I cannot keep these men out of the village forever. People will start to ask questions. Make haste Kunashiro, or you will be the next to die."_

As the dawn of the new day approached the peaks of the cloud village, Kunashiro readies himself for his mission. Dressing in his full black shinobi's outfit, armed with a series of kunai, shuriken and wire he sets off on foot toward the location of his first target. His speed is unrivalled as he runs with both arms swung behind him, moving at almost inhuman speed. He moves down the slopes of the village, through the large valley's and across the vast plateaus of the thunder country as he heads toward a small hamlet on the outskirts of the country. After travelling for several hours, Kunashiro arrives at the hamlet where his target is located. The hamlet is a small agricultural community with a series of farms and small houses that create almost the shape of the letter H as it is bordered by coniferous trees like pines and cedars.. In the centre of the village is a community centre that is headed by an elderly man in his late sixties. Kunashiro spies on his target from the tree line that is only about a hundred metres from the small wooden cabin.

"According to the Raikage's information, the target should be located in the building." Kunashiro notices a figure walk by the window of the cabin. He lowers himself in the tree branches, hiding amongst the leaves and blending in with the shadows the branches cast upon them. "I must bide my time until the moment is right. It is roughly noon now, so I will wait until the sun sets before I make my move. Under the cover of darkness, it is easier to use my jutsu, especially in open areas."

Kunashiro bides his time, waiting for the sun to set, never once taking his eyes off of his target. He watches the old man leave the cabin and go about some of his daily routine. The old man receives documents from some of the other farmers, files them in the cabin's office, and returns to the farms writing down numbers and writing reports. His job appears to be the inventory and regulation of all that the farm is producing, as well as order supplies and feed from suppliers in other areas of the thunder country.

As the time goes by, Kunashiro readies himself for the instant the sun sets. As the sun goes down around 6pm, Kunashiro drops from the trees and readies his hands in the seal of the horse, and then connects his thumbs together starting the jutsu that only members of his family have been trained to use.

"**_Kage Sonsaku! (Shadow Walking) _**Kunashiro then disappears into the shadow of the trees and begins to move through the tunnels created by his jutsu as his moves with the utmost in stealth toward the cabin where his target is residing. As he moves through the shadows he arrives at the cabin, stopping just under one of the windows. Kunashiro emerges from his shadow tunnel and peers into the window to identify his targets location in the cabin. He does not see the old man in the room, so he uses a very thin piece of metal in his equipment to pry the window open. Kunashiro sneaks into the cabin without making a single sound, but is surprised as he can hear the old man coming down the stairs from the top level of the cabin. Kunashiro uses his jutsu to hide in a shadow cast upon the floor by a rocking chair next to the wall.

The old man comes down the stairs at a slow pace, as it appears his hips are not at full strength most likely due to his old age. As the man reaches the main level he moves to a cabinet that stands against the wall opposite Kunashiro. The old man opens the cabinet which is stocked with bottles of liquor and reaches in to grab a bottle of brown liquor. The man pours himself a glass and he sits in thee same chair that Kunashiro is hiding by.

Kunashiro waits patiently to make his move, but after almost an hour of the old man just sitting in the chair and sipping his drink, Kunashiro realizes that it may be a long night. Growing impatient, Kunashiro moves to the brink of the shadow cast upon the floor. He reaches out from the shadow slowly making every effort not to be noticed by the old man. Kunashiro reaches to grab the candle stand that is casting the shadow upon the floor. When the old man turns his head just enough, Kunashiro knocks the candle stand over, changing the direction of the shadow to behind the old man's chair.

"What the hell?" The old man says quietly to himself, as he reaches to the floor to pick up the candle stand. As the old man lifts up the candle stand, he strikes a match to re-light the candle. As he lights the candle, a dark figure can be seen standing behind him, as Kunashiro has emerged from hiding.

With the blink of an eye, Kunashiro wraps some of his wire around the old man's neck, pulling tightly and strangling the old man. The old man thrashes about as he tries desperately to escape from Kunashiro's grasp. Kunashiro shows no change in emotion as he strangles the old man to death and then drops him to the ground after all life has left his frail body. And then for the first time since he began stalking the old man, Kunashiro is able to identify the face of the man he was sent to assassinate.

"_What the hell?_ _Why would the Raikage send me to kill him?" _Kunashiro then notices a cloud village head protector that was wrapped around the old man's waist as a belt. _"Why would I be sent to kill one of our villages own shinobi? And this man . . . he was one of the members of the ruling council. The Raikage said that this man had been reassigned, but why would such an elderly and seasoned shinobi, be sent to the outskirts to work as a farm attendant?"_

Kunashiro leaves the cabin in a hurry still with an uneasy feeling at what he had just done. He moves under the cover of darkness to an outpost station that will be able to send word to the Raikage that the first stage of his mission has been a success and he will now move to stage two. But Kunashiro has begun to grow suspicious of the Raikage's motives

"_That man was one of the ruling council that made a unanimous vote to promote Yamato to the position of Raikage. Why would the Raikage want him reassigned . . . And why in the hell would he want him dead?"_


	2. The Raikage's Plot

_**Toshida Gaiden Part Two - The Raikage's Plot**_

Several hours have passed since Akira Kunashiro, the hired assassin under the control of the leader of the cloud village, successfully took out the first of his three targets, given to him by the Raikage. Kunashiro has arrived at a messenger outpost just several miles from the farming community that Kunashiro just departed. The station is a small series of cabins and guard towers set up to intercept and send out messages from across the thunder country. There are almost one hundred such outposts set up in strategic area's throughout the country. This system allows the thunder country to maintain open communication with at most only two hours between communications. A message is received at an outpost and is then transferred by a horse riding messenger from outpost to outpost, transferring to another rider at every location until the message has reached its destination.

Kunashiro is sitting in one of the cabins at a desk that has been set up to allow provisions to be made by anyone sending a message, or for messages to be written on location. Kunashiro quickly writes his report to the Raikage, letting his master know of his current status. The message reads;

"_First stage of the operation is complete and the target has been subdued. Proceeding to second target at 0400 hours. I will report again within the next 18 hours._

_- Kunashiro"_

Kunashiro then seals the message in an envelope and seals it with wax and a stamp that signifies it is for the eyes of the Raikage only.Kunashiro hands the document to one of the riders and the rider sets off into the morning darkness toward the next outpost. The document is exchanged three times on its way to the Cloud village, until finally the last rider reaches the palace of the Raikage. The Raikage is woken up by his personal guards brandishing the sealed document. The Raikage receives Kunashiros message at 6:30am, and reads it alone in the privacy of his own bedroom.

"_Hmpf. Very good Kunashiro. One down, two to go. Make it quick and get your ass back here. I don't need another liability roaming freely."_

Meanwhile, Kunashiro has arrived at the location of his next target which is a small secluded ranch in the southeast corner of the thunder country. The ranch contains only three stables two of which are dilapidated and on the verge of collapse. The third shows a similar state of disarray and aging, but with patches of new siding, and new roof tiles spread out over what appears to have been structural problems in the building. There are no animals present around the ranch, and the storage areas have no fresh animal feed, making Kunashiro believe that the ranch appears to have been abandoned until recently.

"_It looks like someone has been trying to fix this place up. But why?" _Kunashiro asks himself, just before he notices the unevenness of the repairs and patchwork. _"Whoever is doing all these repairs does not seem to know what they are doing. The boards that have been put up, haven't been measured, they haven't been straightened. Hmpf, from the looks of it, they aren't even the same size, or even the same kind of wood! What the hell is going on here?"_

Kunashiro's attention is suddenly drawn to a sound coming from behind one of the stables. Kunashiro can hear some clanging and rustling from behind the stables and then a figure emerges from behind the stable. Another elderly man roughly the same age as the previous target comes out from behind the stable holding several pieces of lumber in his arms. The old man seems to be more muscular and in better shape then the previous man. His hair is long and grey and is tied back in a ponytail with a separate top knot tied in it.

"_That hair, this man was a shinobi too. He was another member of the former high council. Why is he here? And why is he my target? What is Raikage-sama up to?" _Kunashiro shakes his head of any thoughts that his leader would send him astray. _"It does not matter. Raikage-sama is my master, and I will follow my orders no matter what. For that . . . is the way of the shinobi."_

Kunashiro begins to make his move, demonstrating the full extent of his stealth capabilities and using his signature shadow walking technique. Kunashiro moves throughout the shadows surrounding the ranch, stalking his prey like a wild animal, and making sure that there are no other predators or prey around to possibly jeopardize his kill.

When Kunashiro finds that the coast is clear and that there is no one else around, Kunashiro makes his move, leaping out of his shadow tunnel and pouncing on the elderly shinobi like a jungle cat. Kunashiro stabs the old man in the kidney with the kunai in his right hand and covers the old man's mouth with his left. The old man struggles only for a few seconds before the strength is quickly sapped from his fragile frame. The old man drops to his knees and all life fades from his eyes and his body falls limp. Kunashiro removes the kunai from the old mans back and pushes the man's body to the ground. Kunashiro wipes the blood from his blade and places it back into the holster on his right leg. Kunashiro stares at the old man's body for a few minutes before he is overwhelmed by the feeling of suspicion.

"_I cannot shake this feeling that there is something greater in the works here today. It is not a coincidence that I have been sent to kill two former members of the ruling council. I would be willing to bet that the third target is the final member of the council. This does not make sense. The Raikage comes into power thanks to these three men, and soon after orders them killed. Why?"_

Kunashiro cannot handle the feeling of suspicion any longer and he moves around the ranch and searching for any clues as to why the old man would have been sent to this place, miles away from civilization. He searches through the stables that the old man had been attempting to refurbish, but finds nothing to help his search. He wanders around the area for over an hour until he finds something in a back office on the south side of the northern most stable. The desk in the office appears to be the only thing that is not dilapidated in the stable compound. The desk appears to be where the old man did all of his paperwork. There is a series of cabinets behind the desk, and a number of shelves contain all sorts scrolls and books, most of them covered in dust and dirt. As Kunashiro searches through the books and scrolls he notices that most of them simply contain order forms and receipts for all the supplies that the stable required to maintain its operations.

"_The last of the receipts is from almost ten years ago. This doesn't make any sense at all. This place has been condemned for almost ten years, and all of a sudden one of the ruling members of the village council is sent here to begin fixing it up for whatever reason. Why would a former shinobi and current diplomat be doing out here trying to fix up an out of date stable, when he has no construction experience? There must be some reason why this man was sent here."_

Kunashiro continues his search through the documents and files throughout the office until he stumbles upon a sealed scroll that has the remnants of the Raikage's seal on it. Kunashiro opens the scroll and examines its contents. Upon further examination, Kunashiro reads that the scroll was a set of orders given to the old man by the Raikage himself.

"_Takashino Nomae; Your service over the years has been both inspirational and appreciated. I personally appreciate your open mind in our previous encounters. However, you will now be receiving a new set of orders. The village high council as of this moment is dissolved_, _and a new council will be chosen as your successors. Many other changes will be occurring in our village, starting with your new assignment. You will henceforth be in charge of restoring the southeastern stables, in an effort to upgrade the efficiency of our messenger outposts. You are to leave immediately for your reassignment, and you are to start on repairs yourself, as soon as you arrive. You will be sent additional crews and specialists to aid in your repair efforts within 24 hours. You are to tell no one of your new assignment, and you must comply. You will receive further orders soon._

_- Raikage Yamato Dake_

Kunashiro tucks the scroll away in his back pouch and begins to search for any other orders from the Raikage. After a short time searching, things just don't seem to add up for the confused Kunashiro.

"This doesn't make any sense. What previous encounters did these two have? Why would this man be sent to start repairs when a specialist would be the logical choice?" Kunashiro removes the scroll from his back pocket and reexamines the date of the scroll. "This message was sent months ago. Why did this man not have any help sent to him? This does not make sense at all!"

Kunashiro angrily throws the scroll across the room in frustration and tries yet again to understand what is going on around him. Kunashiro tries to find solace through a breath of fresh air but only finds his mind tossing and turning worse then before. However, his attention is diverted quickly as he notices the position of the sun in the afternoon sky.

"I have been here too long. I must proceed to the next target. This one will not die so quickly this time. I cannot help the feeling that something rotten is a foot." Kunashiro removes his order information from his back pouch, to confirm the location of his next target. "I understand." Says Kunashiro, "I can only assume that this target is the third and final member of the former council."

Kunashiro then takes off like a bullet, his arms thrown behind him as he speeds away in the direction of his next target. Kunashiro moves through the forests, over the hills and through the streams of the thunder country as he makes his way to his next prey.

"_Whoever you are third council member, I have questions that need to be answered. Answer my questions and you will die quickly. Resist, and you will beg for death before I am through with you."_

On his way to the third target, Kunashiro arrives at another rider outpost just several miles from the cloud village and about half way to his target. He once again enters the outposts' cabin to write his report to the Raikage informing him of his latest movements. This time, Kunashiro finds himself uneasy and almost unable to write the latest message. Thoughts of doubt and visions of deceit fill his mind as he cannot shake the feeling that he is just a tool for the Raikage's greater purpose. However, his pen finally reaches the paper as he cannot deny himself one ever present fact. He is shinobi. It is his duty to follow orders without question, and follow those orders he will. But not without learning what he wishes to understand.

As Kunashiro finishes writing his report he quickly hands the report off to one of the messengers and sends him off to relay his message. Kunashiro wastes no more time and demonstrates the meaning of haste as he once again takes off quickly, moving like the mountain wind as he passes through all obstacles in his path. As night begins to fall, Kunashiro falls into his element and decides to waste no more time. He readies his hands in his trademark seal and opens the shadow walking tunnels and enters them without losing speed. His jutsu allows him to move quickly and effortlessly through the blackness that is being cast upon the land by the setting sun. When the sun has completely set, his speed more then triples as he moves through anything in his path.

Meanwhile, the Raikage sits upon his throne as he reads one of the thunder countries messengers has just left his presence after baring a message from Kunashiro. The Raikage smiles as he snaps his fingers, bringing several of his aids including the jounin Shin to his side. He looks over the message one more time and then throws it on his throne as he stands to his feet.

"Let's go Shin. I want to be the first to . . . congratulate our man on a job well done." The Raikage says, with an arrogant smile across his face.

"Or silence him . . . just to be sure of coarse. I have prepared our convoy Raikage-sama, and it will be ready for departure in less then ten minutes." Replies the equally arrogant Shin.

The Raikage leads the way out of his palace with several of his servants, and his assistant Shin walking behind him. As they walk away, the writing on the message left on the Raikage's throne can easily be seen.

"_Second target dismissed. Proceeding to third site for immediate engagement. Will return from Raikou colony immediately after mission completion._

_-Kunashiro"_

The Raikage climbs into the back of a horse drawn carriage that bares the symbol of thunder across it, signifying that this is the private carriage of the Raikage's. The Raikage is soon joined by Shin and several of his bodyguards in the back of the carriage. The Raikage smiles as he nods to his guards who reach behind into their equipment and pull out unique individual masks resembling that of the leaf village's ANBU team. The carriage heads out, down from the mountain top palace and toward the exit of the cloud village. Numerous civilians find themselves slightly confused at the presence of the Raikage's carriage. As the carriage leaves the village, the Raikage finds himself unable to remove the grin from his face.

"_I can't help but be grateful to you Kunashiro. This could have been a real mess without your help. Unfortunately I fear you have learned too much . . . and I have done a good job of covering my tracks so far, and I won't slip up now."_

Only an hour after the Raikage had left the cloud village, Kunashiro has arrived at his destination . . . the border of the Raikou Colony. Kunashiro has been discrete and stealthy during his entire journey, but he cannot help but rise to his feet and stand in awe at the scenery before him.

"What the hell is this place?" Kunashiro asks himself, as he looks up and area of the Thunder country that very few have had the displeasure of casting their eyes upon. The sight of this dreadful place leaves even a battle hardened shinobi like Kunashiro with chill down his spine.

Kunashiro stands at the edge of a tall mountain top that over looks an area filled with rock, black and jagged like polished pieces of razor sharp obsidian. The sky is black, everywhere with menacing storm clouds churning and brooding like none that Kunashiro has ever seen before.

"_Wh-what is this place? The skies are not natural . . . the clouds churn as if constantly in motion and the ground is lacking any colour. No vegetation . . . no sun blanching of the rock . . . it is as if the sun never shines in this place." _Kunashiro's thought process is interrupted as a loud thunder clap is heard above him. However, this is no ordinary storm of thunder and lightning. The thunder sounds structured and put together like the deep throated growl of some angry beast.

Kunashiro shakes off his doubts and fears as he moves toward the cursed place. His destination is one of the guard towers that are set up along the border of the area. Each tower stands roughly 10 meters off the ground and is occupied by two guards in each tower.Kunashiro reaches into his pouch and pulls out his orders.

"_So I am supposed to take out the guard in tower 4-A. But what about the other guard in the tower?" _Kunashiro returns his orders to his pouch and makes his way around the border of the cursed area.

The span of the territory is massive. Kunashiro moves along the border quietly searching for the appropriate guard tower that holds his final prey. As he approaches the first guard tower, he notices the number is 1_-_C, and he makes his way along the western most side borders, leaping from shadow to shadow in an effort to remain unseen in the dark wasteland. It takes Kunashiro over an hour to find the guard tower that holds his target. He approaches the tower from the shadows twenty meters behind and pulls binoculars out from his equipment and examines the occupants in the tower. Kunashiro finds himself confused yet again as there is only one guard in this tower as opposed to the two guards located in all other towers.

"_This just keeps getting better and better. One old retired shinobi, reassigned to the most secluded area of the most barren wasteland in the five countries, and left to guard an area by himself with no backup. What the hell is going on around here?"_

Kunashiro has finally grown weary of all the confusion and immediately leaves the shadows and most quickly toward the guard tower, leaping high into the air and sneaking up on the unsuspecting guard with his kunai drawn.

Kunashiro is caught by surprise when the old shinobi spins around quickly and parries Kunashiro's kunai with a large spear, sending the would be assassin reeling. Kunashiro braces himself against the wall of the guard tower and lunges at the old man yet again with identical results. The old shinobi raises the blade of his spear threatening his attacker with it by waving it back and forth, like a hunter threatening a cornered animal.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The old shinobi asks.

Kunashiro lowers his kunai and drops off of the wall landing in a crouched position. "My name is Kunashiro. I have been sent to seek you out. What is your name?"

The old shinobi remains cautious of Kunashiro and does not lower his guard for a second. "My name is Bishamon."

"You are a former member of the cloud village ruling council are you not?"

The old shinobi still does not phase as he tightens his grip on his ever present spear. "Yes. Until the Raikage disbanded the council and reassigned me here."

Kunashiro returns his kunai to his side holster andcontinues his questioning of the elderly man. "Do you know why you were reassigned here?"

"What does it matter? What are you doing here?"

"I have been given explicit orders from the Raikage to find you. But I did not know your name, just where I could find you."

The old shinobi shakes his head and grimaces in anger as he begins to understand what is going on here. "I suppose that explains why you attacked me." The old man's remarks surprise Kunashiro as he continues. "I suppose I am to assume that you are to be my executioner."

"Wh-what? You mean you were expecting an assassination attempt?"

"Of coarse I was expecting you. I have been expecting it ever since I was brushed to the side so easily by that bastard Raikage. Am I to assume that since I was able to see your attack coming that I am the last of your targets? "

Kunashiro nods, "That is correct. Your two former colleagues were taken care of by me."

"I understand," says the old man, as he lowers his head, and his spear in a moment of silence for his fallen comrades.

"I am sorry sir. But you understand, I am only a shinobi following orders?"

The old man nods again and then grimaces as he thinks of the betrayal he has found himself a part of. "I hold no quarrel with you . . . only to the back stabber that sent you to find me."

"Why does the Raikage want you killed?"

"Because I am a liability. The Raikage is covering his own ass, and that just happens to involve taking all of our lives."

Kunashiro slowly walks toward the old man with his hands raised, showing he holds no weapons and that he wishes the old man no harm for the time being. "I must ask You Bishamon-sama, why does the Raikage want you dead? What did you do to him?"

The old man turns his back to Kunashiro and looks out upon the cursed land he has been sent to guard. "Me and the other three members of the council helped Yamato Dake to become the Raikage."

"Helped? How?"

"What do you mean how? The three of us held the decision making power in the village. The Raikage reigned supreme of coarse, but we were the ones that named the Raikage. When the previous Raikage died, the task fell to us to name his successor. There were several prime candidates for the position. Leading the group was the son of the previous Raikage, a shinobi of great skill, in his late 30's. The perfect candidate for the position of Raikage. There was also another candidate who stuck out from the rest. Another strong shinobi in his late twenties, the son of a wealthy family named Yamato Dake. He did a great job impressing the council, but the decision was to name the former Raikage's son as his successor. It seemed only natural, and the public loved the man. Dake and his family were seen as snobby aristocrats by the people and the council was worried there may have been an uprising if Dake had become Raikage. Besides, Dake was more interested in titles and grandeur then he was interested in the well being and prosperity of his people. He did not take kindly when we told him in private that he was not selected as the new Raikage. Before it was even made public, of whom the new Raikage was."

"If he was not selected, then how is it that he came to be in the position?" Kunashiro asks.

The old man takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and shakes his head solemnly from side to side. "All the members of the council were nearing our retirement. Needless to say, when a shinobi retires, his usefulness is not what it used to be. And since the life of a shinobi does not offer the opportunity to create a financial backing for themselves, retiring is a scary thing for an old man."

Kunashiro looks to the old man in shock as everything finally makes sense to him. His mission, the reason for the councils reassignment, and the shame that this shinobi holds burdened over his head. "You allowed Dake to pay for the position didn't you!"

"Yes. I am ashamed to say so, but the entire council was bribed into naming Dake the Raikage. You have to understand. This gave all three of us the opportunity to be able to live for our remaining days. Not just brushed aside like old farm equipment and left to rot. We had the means to live comfortable in our final years and it was an offer we had no choice but to accept. However, we have had to live with the shame of knowing that we made such a deal. And when I found out that all three of us were not given our retirement rights, and instead we were dissolved as a council and reassigned to backwater outposts in the country, far out of the way of all the Cloud village affairs, I realized that we had made a grave error and we would not live to see our final years. We were a liability to the Raikage. If what we all knew were to get out, the Raikage would be forced to abdicate or face a general uprising in his country. Losing all of his power and likely banishing his entire family from the village and the country, which is why he needed you . . . to cover up his mistake."

Kunashiro finds himself overwhelmed by the news that three of the finest shinobi's in his village, we seduced to give up their honor and make a wrong decision that may hold dire consequences for their countrymen. And the wound that cuts even deeper . . . is the fact that it was all for money.

"_I don't believe this. I was used . . . from the moment I was sent on this mission. The Raikage has been using me to cover up his liabilities. I cannot believe I trusted that snake."_

"Believe me when I say Bishamon-sama, I will not let the Raikage get away with such treachery. I will let you go free and tell the Raikage that my mission was successful, then I will return to the village to take care of . . ."

Before Kunashiro finishes his sentence, he turns around after being startled by a strange sound. He turns in time to successfully dodge and arrow that was aimed straight for his head. The arrow passes Kunashiro, but pierces the chest of Bishamon sending him to the ground as he coughs up blood. Kunashiro looks to the hillside behind the tower and sees seven of the Raikage's personal guards standing on the hillside all armed with bows aimed at the tower. Standing on the left side of the guards, is the Raikage's assistant Shin, holding above him the sword of Murakakumo.

"SHIN YOU BASTARD! I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

Shin laughs on the hill top as he swipes the sword down signifying to the archers to unleash the next volley of arrows toward the Raikage's former prized assassin. Kunashiro ducks behind the walls of the tower and finds himself face to face with the now deceased Bishamon. As the arrows fly over Kunashiro's head and embed themselves in the thatched walls of the guard tower, Kunashiro makes a promise to the old man.

"_I have killed three men, guilty of nothing all to aid a man guilty of the highest treachery. I vow to you Bishamon, and to your comrades, that I will let my mistake go avenged. I will kill the Shin if it is the last thing I do. And see to it that the Raikage's deceit becomes public."_

Back on the hill, Shin Raises the sword again and the archers ready their next volley or arrows. Shin smiles as he taunts Kunashiro, "I would love to see how you expect to get out of this alive Kunashiro. We know what Bishamon told you, so you must understand why we have to kill you now. There are to be no liabilities for Raikage-sama's plan, and I am afraid we just don't trust that you would keep your mouth shut. So do yourself a favour and just take one in the head. It will be over quickly and your dishonor won't be as substantial."

Kunashiro rises to his feet and perches himself on the top of the guard towers' barrier wall. Signifying to Shin that Kunashiro has accepted the idea, "Now that's a good boy Kunashiro, just make it easier for us to hit you, and you can take all the arrows at once. Then it will look like you put up a fight!"

Kunashiro broods in his anger for a minute just before he leaps from the guard tower toward the hill that his would be executioners' stand perched with arrows ready. Shin swipes the sword of murakakumo down in front of the archers, and the marksmen unleash the next volley.

"_Not today Shin, I will not die before you breathe your last breath._" Kunashiro then faces down the storm of arrows' head toward him at highspeed. Then as if almost in slow motion, Kunashiro avoids all the arrows.

The first arrow is struck in half by a perfectly timed side left-hand chop by Kunashiro. The second is caught in between Kunashiro's right middle and index fingers. Kunashiro then uses the same arrow to knock away the third, and the fourth is deflected with a quick snap quick from Kunashiros right foot, and the same happens to the fifth, deflected by a left legged kick. The sixth arrow is dodged as Kunashiro perfectly times the last kick, to twist his lower half clockwise, avoiding the arrow. The final arrow is dodged as Kunashiro inverts himself, performing a forward-moving back flip, causing the arrow to speed by, only inches away from Kunashiro's face.

Kunashiro lands on the ground and immediately runs toward the hillside with his arms thrown back behind him. The archers on the hillside struggle to ready their next volley, still in shock at Kunashiro's amazing agility. Kunashiro readies two kunai as he prepares to do what he has been trained his whole life to do. He leaps up the remaining meters of the hill and strikes down the first archer on the right side with a kunai slash to the throat. He swings his other kunai at the next archer and slices the string of his bow, causing it to snap back toward the archer's face. As the archer is distracted, Kunashiro aims low and stabs the archer in the back of the knee, sending him to the ground. However, before he hits the ground, Kunashiro strikes him with a thrust kick to neck, crushing his larynx and killing him shortly afterward.

The fourth archer in the firing line manages to launch his next arrow that is avoided by Kunashiro who uses the third archer as a human shield. The arrow pierces the archer through the eye and out the back of his head, stopping only inches from Kunashiro's head. Kunashiro then pushes the body toward the fourth archer, knocking him off balance, as Kunashiro leaps toward the fifth archer and stabs him in the chest with his kunai. When his back is turned however, the sixth archer pierces Kunashiro's soldier with an arrow, using it like a kunai and stabbing Kunashiro. Kunashiro grimaces in pain for only a second as his sends the archer to the ground with a backhand strike.

The fourth archer then tries to attack Kunashiro from behind as he removes the arrow from his shoulder. Kunashiro dodges the fourth archers' attack and spins behind him using him as a shield as he moves toward the seventh and final archer. The archer tries to find somewhere to shoot as he backs away from the advancing shinobi. He cannot react fast enough however, as Kunashiro throws the arrow he removed from his shoulder, piercing the archer's chest and killing him quickly. Kunashiro then reaches over the sixth archers shoulder and grabs him by the chin. Kunashiro quickly swipes his arm, and snaps the archers neck killing him instantly and sending him spinning to the ground. Now only Kunashiro and Shin remain.

"Well Kunashiro," Shin says, as he raises the sword in front of him. "That was quite impressive. But I am afraid from this point on, you will not have things so easy."

"I look forward to it Shin." Kunashiro raises his fist and readies himself for a fight and also readies his right hand in a flat palm and beckons Shin to attack him. "Well lets not wait any longer Shin . . . Come!"


	3. Betrayal

_**Toshida Gaiden Part 3: Betrayal**_

Shin and Kunashiro stand only several paces from one another, ready to engage in mortal combat with the drop of a hat. Just as Kunashiro begins to spring off toward Shin, he can feel the air behind him splitting and he quickly ducks, as a kunai flies over his head striking Shin in the chest and dispelling a shadow clone used as a distraction. Kunashiro quickly hops to his feet and throws a shuriken toward the real Shin who has started to charge against Kunashiro after moving out from behind a small rock formation.

"Nice try Shin, but this isn't some school yard brawl." Kunashiro then meets with Shin just behind the guard tower. The two exchange a series of kicks and punches, both fighters attempting to quickly assess the other's strength.

The exchange quickly upgrades to high speed strikes with kunai and Shin soon finds that he is at the disadvantage. _"This guy is unreal. His speed and technique is incredible, not a single flaw in it. He moves fluently and strikes with unparalleled precision. Where the hell is my backup?"_

Kunashiro attacks Shin again this time attacking all out with a thunderous roundhouse that makes a direct him to the side of Shins face, sending him tumbling to the ground. Kunashiro is quick to make a follow up attack, leaping into the air with the intention of crushing Shin's chest with a high speed knee drop. Shin kicks up to his feet and raises' Kunashiro's own sword up to deter the shinobi. The ploy works and Kunashiro loses his balance and tumbles forward, rolling out of the way of the sword and quickly back up to his feet, just in time to see Shin make a careless swipe at Kunashiro with the sword. Kunashiro grasps the sword tightly, pressing it flat between his two straightened palms as he kicks Shin's wrist causing him to lose his grip on the sword.

"You are a fool Shin. You are weak in comparison to me and you knew it from the start." Kunashiro skillfully twirls the sword around three times in his hand, bending only at his wrist and then readies his blade for the next strike. "And just a tip, if you aren't a swordsman, don't even think of laying your hands on my blade!"

With a mighty scream, Kunashiro swings his blade downward at the petrified Shinwho has become paralyzed in his own fear. The blade comes down hard against the top of Shin's head slicing him completely in half from head to toe.

"Pathetic Shin, it is a wonder why the Raikage would choose you as his personal bodyguard." As Kunashiro takes in a deep breath and readies to walk away, he notices that the blade seems to be stuck in part of Shins corpse. Kunashiro can then hear a voice laughing at him from the corpse.

"He chose me because he knows I am hard to kill, and a lot smarter than you!" Says the voice, which has become apparent is the voice of the recently killed Shin.

Kunashiro then looks on in disbelief as the corpse begins to pulsate and throb, as Kunashiro backs away he notices a small fuse, light on either side or his blade. He tries desperately to remove the sword from the corpse but before he can successfully remove it, the corpse explodes in a huge explosion and sends Kunashiro hurdling through the air badly burned and bruised. Kunashiro lands against a series of rocks and falls unconscious.

Out of the smoke left behind by the explosion, Shin walks out with his hand in the seal of the tiger. He walks over to Kunashiro, laying prone on the ground and laughs at his fallen opponent.

"Hmpf, my own little twist on **_Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin no jutsu_** **_(Exploding Shadow Clone). _**Just before the clone is dispelled, it explodes outward, but with my version, the clone can be completely disemboweled, and then I can still detonate it whenever I wish." Shin kicks the unconscious Kunashiro in the ribs, rolling the wounded shinobi onto his back.

Roughly an hour later Kunashiro awakens in a daze, his head still clouded as he tries to realize where he is. He can feel the texture of dirt and gravel scraping across his legs, and the entire weight of his body resting upon his shoulders. When Kunashiro's vision completely returns, he realizes that two masked shinobi are dragging him through a seemingly endless wasteland desert of the Raikou Colony.

"Wh-where are you taking me?" Kunashiro manages to mutter in his confused state.

"Well well well, welcome back their pal." Shin says, as he walks from behind Kunashiro and kneels down in front of him. "I was worried that maybe I killed you with that technique, so I guess it is fortunate that you regained consciousness. Otherwise, it would have taken all of our fun away."

Kunashiro glances to take a quick look at himself and notices the amount of bruises and burns on his body, however there is no blood to be seen. _"Hmpf, they were smart in not letting me bleed. If I could summon right now, none of them would be standing here." _

"All right, this is far enough." A voice says from behind Kunashiro. "Shin, stand him up."

The two masked shinobi lift Kunashiro to his feet as Kunashiro grimaces in pain from his injuries. Kunashiro manages to catch a quick glimpse of three other masked shinobi standing behind him, and Kunashiro slowly and silently manages to remove a senbon needle from his left sleeve without either of the guards noticing. When Kunashiro returns his attention in front of him, he notices the shinobi behind the voice, as the Raikage comes out from behind Kunashiro.

"Well Kunashiro I must say that you have done very well indeed." The Raikage says, with an arrogant smile across his face. He notices Kunashiro beginning to boil in anger and his smile only increases. "Hey now, don't go getting too angry their Kunashiro, you did a great job. I chose you to take care of this mission for your efficiency and your willingness to follow orders. I knew that you would fulfill this mission without any questions being asked. The bottom line is, you're too stupid to know any better, too ignorant to ask questions."

The words of the Raikage begin to burn a hole in Kunashiro as he gets even more and more angry with every dagger that the Raikage speaks.

"You are just too jaded to believe that maybe something sneaky or underhanded was going on around you. Let's face is Kunashiro, I picked you for this mission because . . . you're an idiot!"

Kunashiro has had enough of the Raikage's insults and his own feelings of betrayal, and he stabs the restraining shinobi on the right with the senbon needle. The needle enters the shinobi's temple, killing him instantly, causing the shinobi on the left to draw his kunai in an attempt to stab the escaping Kunashiro. The kunai comes within a foot of Kunashiro's side before Kunashiro manages to grab the shinobi's wrist and force his momentum in the other direction. At the same time, Kunashiro kicks out the shinobi's legs causing him to fall to the ground hard, and with the kunai still in his hand, the shinobi is stabbed in the chest with Kunashiro's help.

The three other shinobi charge at Kunashiro with their kunai drawn ready to attack, when the Raikage shouts orders to them from behind Kunashiro. "Don't let him bleed! He cannot be allowed to summon!"

The shinobi attack Kunashiro with taijutsu attacks, attempting to subdue him with fists rather then with cuts and stabs. One of the shinobi comes in low with a sweep kick to Kunashiro that is avoided by the betrayed shinobi as he leaps into the air. The second shinobi attacks Kunashiro in mid air, connecting with a left hook that is counter by Kunashiro, who kicks the shinobi in the ribs with a back flip style kick. As Kunashiro lands on the ground the third shinobi has started a jutsu. _Ox, dragon, horse, rat._

**_Raiton: Shuurai no jutsu (Lighting Element: Lightning Strike) _**A large amount of chakra begins to form in front of the shinobi's hand seal. Electrons begin to snap together in the surrounding area, and a quick bolt of lightning shoots out toward Kunashiro.

"Shit!" Kunashiro says out loud, as he throws himself to the ground in an effort to stop the electric strike from making a direct hit. The bolt singes' Kunashiros left shoulder and he rolls across the ground as he clutches his burn. Kunashiro reaches into his right boot and pulls out a kunai that he kept for emergencies. With a sidearm throw, the kunai makes a direct hit in the shinobi's throat, sending him to the ground clutching his neck in a vein attempt to prevent him from bleeding to death.

The two other shinobi charge at the injured Kunashiro in unison, leaving Kunashiro to try and quickly mount a new strategy. _"Dammit. It was no fluke that these shinobi were picked to be the Raikage's guards. If have to get my sword back, maybe then I will have a better chance of making it out of this hell hole." _

As Shin and the Raikage look on in amusement, Kunashiro charges toward the two shinobi, with his fists clenched and his arms thrown behind him. Just as it appears Kunashiro was about to make contact with the two charging shinobi, he slams his left foot into the ground and pushes off toward Shin. Shin is caught by surprise and he quickly reaches for Kunashiros sword which has been sheathed at his right side. Shin cannot move fast enough as Kunashiro plants him with a hard left hand to the face, sending Shin to the ground.

The Raikage lets out a smirk as he strikes Kunashiro with a spin kick so fast that Kunashiro barely saw it coming. The kick sends Kunashiro flying through the air and into the grasp of the other two shinobi. Kunashiro regains his composure quickly and manages to grasp one of the shinobi's Adams apple in between the knuckles on his middle and index fingers. With a quick twist, he crushes the esophagus of the shinobi sending him to the ground where he would soon choke to death.

Kunashiro takes advantage of the opening, and bites down hard on his left thumb, drawing blood. Kunashiro makes then starts the summoning technique with the proper hand seals, _Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Ram._ As he tries to slam his hand to the ground, completing the summoning technique, the last remaining shinobi manages to jump on Kunashiro's back grasping his left arm in an attempt to prevent him from summoning. The shinobi grasps Kunashiro's torso with his legs, and uses his other arm to restrain Kunashiro around the throat. The shinobi struggles desperately to pull Kunashiro to the ground, rocking back and forth, choking Kunashiro and testing his strength. Kunashiro soon falters and lands on top of the shinobi who is still firmly grasping Kunashiro's arm, body and throat. Kunashiro reaches with his right arm and tries to remove the kunai from the shinobi's holster, he comes only inches away from grasping the knifes handle when Shin rises to his feet and removes the sword of Murakakumo from its sheath.

"There will be no summoning for you Kunashiro, and those murderous hands will be silenced. Today you die!" Shin moves quickly to the two struggling shinobi and raises the sword up and over his left shoulder. The restraining shinobi understands Shin's plan and does what he can to extend and restrain Kunashiros arm.

"NOOOO!" Kunashiro screams, as the sword comes swiping down, cleanly removing Kunashiro's hand halfway up his forearm from the rest of his arm. His severed hand flies through the air and lands several meters away from the three shinobi. Kunashiro lets out an intense scream of agony as the shock of his amputation sinks in. The restraining shinobi releases Kunashiro as the injured former assassin clutches the remnants of his arm.

Shin stands over Kunashiros wounded frame laughing menacingly as Kunashiro screams in pain. "Well isn't that ironic. You steal this blade, you steal peoples lives, I steal the blade from you, and then I steal your life!" Shin inverts the sword and raises it into the air, ready to inflict the fatal stab to Kunashiro, when the Raikage stops him from completing the task.

"Enough Shin!" Shin turns around as the Raikage shouts to him. "I have better plans for this man. You did well in removing his hand though Shin. Now we don't have to worry about him using any of his jutsu's anymore. And with his not having his sword, this man is no physical threat to us anymore."

The Raikage walks over to Kunashiro still laying in pain on the ground and lays into the wounded shinobi with a series of heavy kicks. "We will leave this man out here in this wasteland, and let this hell do the work for us."

Shin sheaths the sword after using Kunashiro's shirt to wipe his own blood off. "Are you sure that is wise Raikage-sama?" Shin asks, unsure at whether or not Kunashiro should just be left to die out in the Raikou colony.

"Whatever will be more of a humiliation to this man Shin. That is the path I decide to send him on. No one can survive in this place, and he will die within a few days." The Raikage turns around and readies to walk away from Kunashiro. Before he moves, another thought enters the twisted Kage's head. "But before we leave him, let's have a little fun."

Shin and the last masked shinobi lift Kunashiro up, raising him to his feet and leaving him prone and at the mercy of the Raikage. The Raikage readies his hands in the seal of the snake and prepares a jutsu.

"**_Raiton: Seidenki Senbon!" (Lightning element: Static needle)_** The Raikage separates his hands and his left hand is filled with static electricity in the shape of small needles all tossing, turning and swirling in his hand. Kunashiro tries to escape from his captors grasp but only ends up being restrained harder. The Raikage then thrusts the needles into the body of Kunashiro sending thousands of electric shocks throughout his body. Kunashiro can only scream out in pain as all the muscles in his body begin snapping all at once, as the electric shocks prove too much for his nervous system to handle. Kunashiro soon falls limp from the pain in the grasp of the shinobi only seconds away from falling unconscious.

Shin looks on at their handy work and cannot help but laugh heartily to himself, _"Hmpf, the static needle technique is one of the highest level lightning skills. The Raikage developed that technique and only uses it in a serious battle. It is surprising to see him use the technique just to torture this man."_

Kunashiro musters all of his strength to make a final strike against his captors, but appears to be all for not as Kunashiro can only raise his head to look into the eyes of his executioners. He makes eye contact with the Raikage who brandishes a sinister smirk across his face.

"Sorry Kunashiro, but I think I have had my fun for now. I think it is safe to say that this is goodbye Kunashiro. And thank you for all your help." The Raikage then raises his hands in the seal of the dragon as he has begun another jutsu.

"**_Fuuton: Kadou Bakufuu no jutsu" (Vortex blast technique_) **The Raikage then points both his hands out at Kunashiro with both hands flattened out. A large bubble like ball of air begins to form in his hands, filled with a swirling vortex of gale force winds. The bubble begins to push against Kunashiro almost to the point of popping, and the two restraining shinobi, quickly let go and move out of the way as the Raikage finishes the technique.

"See you later Kunashiro. HA!" The Raikage shouts as the bubble pops unleashing an enormous vortex of wind sending Kunashiro flying high into the air and off into the distance more then several hundred meters. "Well Shin, shall we be going?"

Shin nods in approval as the Raikage begins to make his way out of the Colony toward the carriage on the outskirts of the colony. "Yes Raikage-sama," Shin says as he follows suit, "It should take us about an hour to get out of this hell hole, and an additional three hours to return to the Cloud village."

"Very well then. Leave the bodies and lets go home." The Raikage replies.

The Raikage and his two remaining shinobi then leave the Raikou colony and board their carriage that had been waiting just outside the wasteland. The carriage sets off toward the cloud village with the final shinobi guard, the Raikage, Shin and Kunashiros sword inside.

Meanwhile, Kunashiro has landed after his painful flight over the desert of the Raikou colony. When Kunashiro awakes, he is barely alive. He is bleeding profusely from his severed hand and is also still in intense pain from his bodies' electrocution. The fall to earth also damaged Kunashiro greatly. He received four cracked ribs, a punctured lung and numerous hairline fractures to his legs, arms, skull dozens of snapped muscles throughout his body and a break in his clavicle bone. Kunashiro is in so much pain and is so weakened from his ordeal that he cannot even rise to his feet, let alone attempt to leave the wasteland. At that moment . . . Kunashiro can only wait for death.

The winds in the wasteland pick up sending a large amount of dust and sand into the air, causing chaos to all of Kunashiro's systems. The dust storm blinds his eyes, and the sound of the heavy winds' make his hearing useless. As his eyes begin to glaze over, Kunashiro can see the silhouette of someone walking toward him. At first he tries to use his last remaining strength to move away from the dark figure, but he soon begins to believe that the silhouette is only a figment of his imagination.

"_I . . . can't move . . . who would be out here anyway . . . this . . . is no way for . . . a shinobi to . . . die. Damn you Raikage . . . damn you Sin . . . I will have my revenge . . . in the next life . . ."_

Suddenly, Kunashiro feels a hand grab against his shirt in an attempt to get a response out of him. Kunashiro tries to open his eyes, but all his strength has left his body. As he loses consciousness, he can hear two voices talking to one another but cannot make out what they are saying due to the loud rumbling of the storm above, and the piercing sound of the blowing winds.

The two figures are dressed in dark robes, their heads covered in hoods, and garments covering their face from the sand. The two then examine Kunashiro's wounds, paying special attention to his amputated hand. One of the figures quickly tears off a piece of their robe and wraps it around Kunashiro's hand tightly, temporarily stopping Kunashiros near fatal blood loss. The smaller of the two figures then calls out to the other.

"Father! We have to get this man back to the village, his wounds are severe and he may bleed to death." The voice of the smaller figure is that of a young woman, calling out to the taller and older man.

"It is non of our concern! You were born in that village, but you should know that if this man is here, that he must have done something wrong! It is his punishment and who are we to say that he didn't deserve it?"

"But father you were once in his situation before were you not? And you were guilty of your crimes. Yet you were still saved by someone just like us. Now help me carry him. If we hurray we can get back to the village in twenty minutes. The bandage I gave him should keep him from bleeding to death in that time, but if we leave him out here he won't last the night."

The young woman then starts to lift Kunashiro to his feet, struggling greatly as he tries to lift Kunashiro's weight by herself. The woman's father shakes his head in frustration and soon begins to help his daughter. The old man lifts Kunashiro's left arm over his head and braces his weight over his back while his daughter does the same on the opposite side. The two then carry Kunashiro into the furthest recesses of the Raikou colony, coming to a large opening in a dark and blackened rock face. The two then carry Kunashiro through a series of caves and tunnels until they reach a bright cavern lit by torches and candles. The cavern is filled with people, young and old, with men woman and children alike. All of the people in the cavern divert their attention to the three intruders in their area. The man and his daughter are greeted as they enter the cavern with open arms, but all attention quickly falls upon the new arrival in the village as Kunashiro remains lifeless in his saviors' arms.

"Where is the doctor!" The young woman cries out, "This man is serious injured, we need a doctor immediately."

From the back of the cavern, and old man enters into view. His hair is long and white and he wears a pair of glasses that have been broken and taped together numerous times. He beckons the two to bring the wounded Kunashiro into a separate room that is blocked by a makeshift tarp, which appears to be consisting of numerous garments, rugs, and blankets. The two then lay Kunashiro down on a table in the middle of the room that appears to have been made of rock and hardened clay.

"What happened to him?" The old doctor asks as he examines the extensive wounds of Kunashiro. "He has had his hand chopped clean off by a sword, that much is clear."

Hours would then go by as the old doctor did his best to treat Kunashiro's wounds. He is wrapped in bandages and has numerous splints made out of tree roots, string and long stones. Kunashiro would awake soon after most of his wounds have been treated.

He awakes to find the old doctor and four other men with their backs turned to him, facing a fire at the back of the room. The smoke from the fire bellows out and exits through a series of man-made holes in the rock face, leading all the way to the outside. The fire pit is surrounded by large slabs of stone in a pyramid like shape, creating a makeshift fireplace for the room.

Kunashiro does his best to remain quiet but as he struggles to regain his composure and balance, he knocks over bowl of water that had been place beside him, filled with bloody rags and worn off dead flesh. The site would normally be nothing to Kunashiro, but in his weakened state, it takes all of his remaining strength to keep from vomiting. The sound of the bowl being knocked over gains the attentions of the five men at the other end of the room that seem shocked and unhappy to see him awake. The old man nods to the other four who then advance on Kunashiro. Kunashiro tries to get away from the four men, his eyes filled with fear for the first time in many years, but his injuries prove to be too much for him and he cannot move. The four men then grab a hold of each of Kunashiro's limbs, restraining his movements and preventing him from struggling.

"Wh-what . . . are . . . you doing . . . to me?" Kunashiro manages to say as he continues to struggle to remain conscious.

The old doctor responds, "I am sorry young man, you suffered some very serious injuries. I had hoped that you would remain asleep while we treated all of your injuries. I am afraid that all of the injuries have been treated, except for that hand of yours."

The old man pulls a fiery red-hot poker out of the fire and begins to walk over to Kunashiro slowly. Kunashiro's eyes widen greatly as he begins to struggle to free himself from the four men restraining him. But his injuries prove too much to handle and the pain prevents him from fighting any longer. His eyes fill with fear as the old man gets closer and one of the detaining men covers his mouth.

The old man stops his advance and addresses the men. "Stop! Do not cover his mouth. This man is a shinobi, we decided how we would treat him, but let him maintain his honor and decide how he will receive it." The man removes his hand from Kunashiro's mouth, but Kunashiro's expression remains filled with fear. "Do not worry young shinobi, no one will think less of you if you show fear or pain."

As the poker gets closer to Kunashiro, he closes his eyes and grits his teeth in an effort to lessen the feeling of panic surging through him. Kunashiro cannot help but find himself becoming even more afraid, as the heat from the poker can be felt on his body. Beads of sweat roll down his face, and he can feel the hair on his arms begin to burn. Before Kunashiro passes out, the last thing he can smell is his own flesh being burned by the hot poker.

Outside the operating room the entire settlement, has the hair on the neck standing on end as Kunashiro's blood curdling screams echo throughout all of the tunnels and caves.


	4. The Dark Secret

_**Toshida Gaiden Part 4: The Dark Secret**_

_(I know it has been quite awhile since my last update, and I apologize for that but school has been quite hectic lately and it is hard to find time, and to finds motivation. I will to update about once a week but you never know. School is over in a month and after that I can guarantee more frequent updates._)

Kunashiro awakens in a severe pain, his eyes unable to focus and all his senses almost numbed. He soon realizes that he has been heavily medicated, likely in an effort to speed up his recovery. As his eyes begin to focus, the first thing he notices what remains of his left hand has been capped with a piece of metal, and bandages have been wrapped tightly around his wound. He uses his right hand to try and use his sense of touch to determine the extent of his injuries. After feeling around he notices his ribs have been taped up and wrapped with makeshift gauss wrappings. Upon further inspection he notices he is recovering from four cracked ribs, and with a little time he is able to deduct the extent of his other injuries.

"_Man I am a mess." _Kunashiro thinks to himself,_ "How did I get here? Speaking of which, where the hell am I?_"

Kunashiro looks about the room he is in which is dark and secluded, lit only by candle light. By a makeshift cabinet at the other side of the room, Kunashiro notices the same old man that cauterized his hand standing with his back to Kunashiro. The old man turns around and cracks a smile at the wounded shinobi.

"Well then," the old man says, "it's nice to see you finally awake. We were worried that you may never wake up"

"How long have I been out?" Kunashiro asks.

"Roughly three days. You would wake up every now and again in a daze and in extreme pain, so we'd give you some more painkillers and you would fall back asleep."

Kunashiro rises up in his bed and grimaces in pain briefly before settling in his upright position. The old man moves closer to Kunashiro checking to make sure that none of Kunashiro's wounds have worsened.

"I thank you old man. You have treated all of my injuries to the best of your abilities. Now what do you want from me in return?"

"Nothing at all young shinobi. When they found you, it was obvious that you had been decimated by another strong shinobi. The chakra burns, the clean cut that took your hand, it seems either like you fought an opponent you couldn't beat and ended up here, or you resisted when you got arrested."

Kunashiro raises his voice in an outrage, "I was not arrested! And I did not fight an opponent I couldn't beat. I was outnumbered by the Raikage and his personal guard."

"The Raikage? Why would the Raikage look after a criminal?"

Kunashiro finds himself trying to strike the old man, letting out a rabid swing with his amputated left hand. "I am not a criminal dammit!" Kunashiro grimaces and almost falls out of his bed and the old man rushes to his side, returning him to a comfortable position.

"Ok I understand young shinobi. Do not strain yourself, you are still in horrible shape and you still need rest." The old man then walks to the cabinet and grabs a bottle of brown liquid from the cabinet.

"I was betrayed. I used to be the Raikage's personal assassin. And he only used me to take care of some of his dirty work."

The old man puts some of the liquid into a cup and gives it to Kunashiro. "Here, this will help with the pain." Kunashiro drinks the awful tasting liquid back and returns to his resting position.

"To do all of this for a stranger in this place is truly astonishing. Speaking of which, where the hell are we?"

"You are in the Raikou prison colony my friend. This is "officially" a maximum security prison colony reserved for only the most dangerous criminals in the thunder country. And some criminals from the other countries. However, about sixty percent of our population are second generation prisoners, born after their parents founded this place."

"Parents? Founding a prison colony?"

The old man chuckles out loud as he realizes Kunashiro's confusion. "Not quite! It has always been a prison colony since it was founded by the Raikage, over a generation ago, but the first inhabitants realized that there was no guard tower, or security frontier throughout the area. The only thing was, that the storms never stop, the sun never shines and there is no life here at all. Nothing to eat, nothing to hunt, nothing to farm. It is simply where the trash was sent to die." The old man sits down beside Kunashiro and remembers the early days of the colony.

"After dozens of prisoners died in this wasteland, one of them found their way to these caves and found shelter in the massive series of caverns and tunnels. When the reached the lower levels of the caves they found underground waterways that was able to supply them with a variety of fish and other sea life. The inhabitants had food, and they had shelter as well as the ability to distill the salt water from the waterway. So, a village soon sprang up over the years in these caves."

"This place has become a village? A village of criminals?"

"Yes it did. In this place you have to pull together and work as a community in order to survive. Everyone's criminal past became second priority because they had no time to act with an ego or with some kind of hostile attitude to the other inmates. If you wanted to survive, you worked and you pulled your weight or you were simply left to die. Receiving no provisions or fresh water or even shelter. We have never had a problem in all our years here."

"But why didn't you ever try to escape from this place? Storm the guard towers and stage a revolt?"

The old man laughs at Kunashiros optimism, "I am afraid that we aren't all fighters down here young shinobi. You are one of only five shinobi that have ever been sent to this place, and all of those shinobi have since passed on. We are a peaceful people and we make due with what we have here."

"And what do you call this village of yours old man?"

"Although officially it is designated as the Raikou Prison colony, all of us have so affectionately referred to this place as the Village of Sin. So that we may go about our lives in peace and prosper, but never forget why it was that we came to be here."

Suddenly a young woman walks into the room looking for the old man, and as she turns she notices Kunashiro sitting up in bed. After looking at the shinobi in amazement for a few moments, she soon regains her composure and addresses the old man.

"I am sorry to disturb you Shobu, but my father wishes to see you. His wrist has been bothering him again and he has finally realized that all his procrastinating to talk to you about it wont allow him to continue with our workload."

The old man replies, "Ah yes, your father can be a stubborn man indeed my dear. Oh by the way, as you may have noticed, our friend has regained consciousness."

The young woman looks to Kunashiro wearily, trying to avoid making eye contact with the shinobi, although she cannot help but cast the occasional glance. "Y-yes I noticed. I am glad to see that you are doing better shinobi-sama."

The old doctor turns to Kunashiro who finds himself curiously inspecting the weary woman. "Um th-this was the woman that saved you and brought you here. You are lucky that her and her father were out gathering flint rocks when you found yourself in the colony. Otherwise you may have been nothing but a skeleton by the time another soul would pass by you." The old man redirects his attention to the shy woman, "Well I suppose I should formally introduce you two. Yuna, this is mister . . . well come to think of it I never got the man's name. What is your name anyway young shinobi."

Kunashiro catches eyes with the young woman briefly as he stammers out his name. "K-Kunashiro. Akira Kunashiro, former shinobi of the village of the hidden cloud. I must ask you. Yuna was it? Why is it that you do not look me in the eyes?"

The young woman is caught by surprise and begins to blush in embarrassment at Kunashiro's question. "S-sorry shinobi-sama, I-I mean Kunashiro-san. I was told by my father that the shinobi are ruthless and dangerous and they could kill you with a single glare if they thought that your glance was offensive. I was simply avoiding the risk, I apologize if I made you angry."

Kunashiro smiles for the first time in many days. He shakes his head and waves his remaining hand at the young woman. "You may look at me in the eyes anytime you wish. I assure you that you have nothing to fear from me."

The young man returns the smile to Kunashiro, but is quickly interrupted by a loud bellowing called from the adjacent room.

"YUNA! IS HE GOING TO LOOK AT MY WRIST OR NOT?" Suddenly Yuna's father walks in the room and then redirects the question to Shobu himself. "So are you going to look at my wrist or not doc?" The tall and lanky man's attention is soon drawn to Kunashiro who sits upright in his bed with his attention directed to the new arrival. Suddenly the tall man turns blue in the face and quickly lunges at his daughter and covers her eyes with his left hand while covering his own eyes with his right.

"D-D-D-DON'T LOOK YUNA! THE SHINOBI'S GLARE CAN KILL YOU REMEMBER? DON'T MAKE HIM ANGRY! I AM S-S-S-SORRY MR.SHINOBI, BUT M-M-MY DAUGHTER DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER." The old man remains trembling at the knees as he refrains from looking at Kunashiro at all.

Kunashiro cannot help but laugh out loud at the strange man's actions. His laughing is cut short as the pressure on his broken ribs becomes too evident and he grimaces slightly in pain. _"What has this guy heard about shinobi? If I was healthy, I could kill him before he even realized who he was looking at, but why would I want or need to?" _

The old man shakes his head and lets out a sigh in response to the father's actions, "Will you stop it already? This man is a new arrival here. He is not here to kill anyone. Now open your damn eyes and let me take a look at your wrist. Otherwise, get out of the infirmary and find some work to do."

The man slowly opens his left eye and then does the same slowly with the right. He scratches the back of his head and smiles with a tooth baring grin in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "S-sorry sir. I have just head a lot of stories about the shinobi of the cloud village being so strong and ruthless that they could kill you with a single glare . . ."

"If I thought your glance was offensive. Yes your daughter was kind enough to let me in on that information." Kunashiro says, sending a slight laughter throughout the room.

Yuna smiles again as she looks Kunashiro in the eyes, and Kunashiro returns the favour. "Anyway, Mr. Kunashiro this is my father Keinea, and I must apologize for his ridiculous behavior."

"I assure you it is quite all right young lady." Kunashiro replies return the smile.

_**(Narration from Toshida)**_

_**For the next few weeks my father would learn about the way of life in the village of sin, and was able to become a successful member of the colony. His wounds were still slowly healing, but he did what he could with only one hand. He learned about their water distilling process, the fish hatchery's they had developed, how they worked to maintain their structural supports that kept the entire village from collapsing in on itself.**_

_**Over that time, he also developed a courtship with Yuna, who you may have guessed, later became mine and Keinea's mother. Keinea of coarse having been named after our grandfather.**_

_**For the first time in awhile, my father seemed to be happy living amongst the villagers, and living in the village. Although for all of those weeks, he never set a foot outside the caves of the colony, and never saw the outside of the colony. That combined with his ever present amputated hand, my father slowly corroded inside. He put on the facade of a happy man to all of the villagers so that no one would bother him, or become worried about him. But inside he was still filled with a deep hatred for Shin . . . and for The Raikage. Then finally one day when most of his major wounds had healed, he ventured out to the outside of the caves, with Shobu the doctor acting as his guide.**_

Kunashiro looks up into the sky and is still awe - struck by the churning sky above him. The clouds are black even during the day, with lightning and thunder coursing through them like the blood and very life force of the clouds.

"This cannot be some kind of natural phenomenon." Kunashiro says to Shobu, "The clouds are churning and boiling over constantly, as if the sky was angry. Forever brooding over itself . . . it is almost poetic in a way isn't it Shobu?"

"Why yes it is young shinobi. And you are right about another thing, this isn't a natural occurrence . . . "

_**It was at that moment that my father received the information that would damn me to bondage before I was even born.**_

"The stormsare the result of an ancient evil that was locked away generations before our ancestors were even a thoughtAs the story is told, hundreds of years ago one of the legendary demons was banished from it's own realmand sent to ours.The transition left the beast severely weakened and out of fear of its capabilities, the shinobi nations at the time that were still in their infancy, used all of their combine powers to hunt the beast down, and then followed it to this area which was once rich in resources, wildlife, trees and streamsThe shinobi used a massive sealing technique, and they were able to separate the beast's soul from its body. They were able to destroy the beast's body, but they found that the demon's vicious spirit was unable to be destroyed. In a moment of panic, the shinobi did what they could, and imprisoned the beast's spirit in somewhat of a celestial cage high above the mountains of this land in the hope that over the years, the beast's spirit would weaken and eventually fade away. The beast's spirit has been there ever since, churning and brooding over itself in anger for hundreds of years, simply waiting for its bondage to be broken, or its demise to become reality."

Kunashiro looks on in shock to the wise old man, baffled by the mans outlandish story. However, deep down the fairy tale has sparked Kunashiro's curiosity. "You cannot be serious Shobu, parents used to tell their children stories of demons that would seek out disobedient children as food. It is ridiculous."

"Yes I agree with you completely. However, that is the tale and there is no possibly way that somewhere in nature those kinds of clouds could be formed. Those clouds and these storms have scourged across these lands for many years, long before this village was even established. And many people that have journeyed through the colony say that the scars of the sealing technique can still be seen, burnt into the grounds of the wasteland."

"Once again Shobu you are right. You may go back inside if you wish, the fresh air although stagnant and reeking of dust is somewhat soothing when compared to the dank air in the caves. I wish to stay out for a little while longer, I assure you I will be ok and I can find my way back."

"Very well Kunashiro. Do not stay out too long and do not wander. It would be very easy for anyone to succumb to the weather out here."

The old man returns into the caves, leaving Kunashiroalone at the mouth of the cave system to take in the sights and be alone with his thoughts. Kunashiro finds himself unable to shake the thoughts that perhaps the myths and fairy tales are not as fictitious as he had once thought. He uses his remaining hand to pull over the hood on his brown and matted cloak, given to him by his new friends, and he sets off into the wasteland.

"_I have to know for sure. The stories told about the demons tell of them possessing great power and endless amounts of chakra. If I could some how harness that power, then I would easily escape this hell hole and bring swift revenge to that bastard Raikage." _Kunashiro thinks to himself as he continues wandering throughout the wasteland kicking over rocks and piles of dirt looking for the slightest hint that the sealing technique may have occurred at some point in time.

_**My father eventually found the signs he was looking for as he was ready to give up. He noticed that the ground itself had been burned so badly that it actually turned the sand into glass. He would later be able to uncover the entire sealing symbol and committed it to memory as he stood in the middle of it.**_

"_Interesting. It appears to be a seven-part seal with five smaller seals circling the main seals. This was it . . . this had to be it! It wasn't some fairy tale or some myth made up to scare little children." _Kunashiro finds himself ecstatic and unable to hold his joy in. "IT WAS REAL! THE DEMON DID EXIST AND IT IS SEALED ABOVE THIS WASTELAND." Kunashiro exclaims out loud as if screaming at the sky itself.

Kunashiro then kneels to the ground and begins to recreate a scaled down version of the seal in the dirt in front of him. The seal takes the shape of a large seven sided polygon with a pentagon at each point, anchoring the seal down even further with additional seals. Kunashiro studies the design of the seal and tries to figure out the proper modifications needed to accomplish his goal. On the scaled down version of the glyph, Kunashiro omits two of the anchoring seals on each point and redraws them slightly differently.

"_That should be able to pull it off. If I switch the polarity of the anchor, I should be able to banish the seal temporarily. But then I have to find away to bind the demon's spirit to this world . . . " _At that moment, Kunashiro is hit by a dark and disturbing epiphany as the solution he was looking for suddenly comes to him.

"_That's it . . . I will bind the demon's spirit with my own. If I become the container for the beast, I will reap the benefits of its power. If I make the corrections to the seal with my own blood, I should be able to use it as a medium for myself and the demon's spirit. If I can redirect its spirit to anchor with my own, then I should be able to bypass it and simply use it like a summoning."_

Kunashiro then moves to the first point in front of him and bites down hard on his thumb, and begins making the additions to the anchors using his own bloodAfter a short time, he has successfully made the additions to the anchors and readies himself in the center of the symbol and readies himself to make the summoning. Before he can begin to make the appropriate hand seals however, Kunashiro notices a problem with his logic.

"DAMMIT!" Kunashiro screams out loud. "How can I make the proper hand seals if I don't have a second hand?" An idea soon hits Kunashiro as he reaches into his pack pocket and pulls out a pair of gloves given to him by Shobu. _"This may just work . . . If I can concentrate my chakra into the glove and fill it up, it may work like a mold and allow me to control the glove as if it were my hand." _Kunashiro puts the glove over the stump of his former hand, and begins trying to focus his chakra into the glove. After several minutes of high concentration, the fingers on the glove begin to move. Kunashiro smiles with delight, as he begins to move all of the gloves fingers, as if they were his own.

"_Well it isn't perfect, but I suppose it will do. All I need is for it to hold up against my other hand so I can make the appropriate seals." _Beads of sweat begin to form on Kunashiros forehead, as the concentration is quickly taking its toll. _"Dammit. I can't keep this up for very long. The concentration and chakra needed for this is too much for me to handle at this point." _

Kunashiro then slowly brings his hands together and after a few tries successfully forms the seal of the boar. Then in sequence he slowly forms the remaining seals, _dog, rooster, monkey, and ram. _He takes one last look up at the clouds that have begun to churn more and more violently, tumbling over one another as if fighting for position. The lightning strikes in the colony increase exponentially and the winds begin to pick up by more then ten mph.

"_I can almost feel the beasts excitement. It wants me to unleash it . . . It wants to be free again." _Kunashiro smiles as the wind blows his hood down, sending his long black hair out behind him as it blows in the wind. "Well you won't have to wait much longer my friend. It is time for both of us to regain what we have lost . . . and what was taken from us!" With that being said, Kunashiro slams his hand down to the ground in the center of the glyph sending out the summoning script and connecting it all to the corresponding points on the glyph. The symbol begins to glow with a bright green light that is matched by an identical light that glows from the sky.

"_**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"**_


	5. The Sleep

_**Toshida Gaiden Part 5: The Sleep**_

Kunashiro awakens from a long and restless slumber in under the vigil of Yuna and Shobu. The two seem excited to see that he has woken up, but Kunashiro's mind remains in a daze and he is unable to understand any of the words that are coming out of their mouths. His senses are confused, his vision blurred and hearing unreliable. His body feels weak and drained of all chakra, and his hands and feet feel numb and almost frostbitten. As Kunashiro's mind begins to clear, his thoughts become focused and he rises quickly from his horizontal position, and rises up in his ever familiar hospital-like recovery bed.

"Kunashiro what the hell happened?" Shobu asks as he tries to get the young shinobi's attention. "When an hour passed and you hadn't returned from the surface I went back out to look for you and you were gone. I had to organize a search party as soon as possible to go out looking for you. What happened out there?"

Kunashiro does not answer as he simply stares blankly into nothingness. _"What happened?" _Kunashiro asks himself. _"Did it work? Did I summon the demon? I don't feel any different though . . . I actually feel weaker then before. Why am I so drained?"_

Yuna stands in front of Kunashiro and kneels down so that her eyes connect directly with Kunashiro's, drawing his attention toward her. "What happened out there? Please talk to us Kunashiro, we've been so worried these last four days."

"Four days!" Kunashiro exclaims aloud. "I was out for four days? But how? Why?"

"We were hoping you could tell us." Shobu adds. "When the search party found you, you were in a deep sleep with a smoldering circle still smoking around you. If it wasn't for the smoke, we probably would never have found you." Shobu moves to Kunashiro's bedside and helps Kunashiro out of bed. "When we got you back here, I looked over your condition and it appeared to be that you were simply sleeping. Exhausted and drained of chakra."

"Drained of chakra?" Kunashiro asks.

"Yes! Now what the hell were you doing out there?"

Kunashiro thinks to himself about his plan to summon the demon into himself. _"I cannot believe that my plan failed. This does not make any sense. The seals should have worked! Dammit, this can't be happening!" _Kunashiro bites down on his bottom lip, fuming with frustration at his failed experiment. _"Either way, it is better that these people don't know what I attempted."_

Kunashiro looks to Shobu and fakes a look of bewilderment. "I-I don't remember what happened."

_**And that explanation was all that the village people needed to let that day rest in the back of their memories. My father would be hindered from that point on with a reduced chakra capacity, severed almost by half as the beast fed on his energy to sustain itself as it attempted to regain its strength from transition. What had really happened was the dragon was indeed summoned into my father, but the transition left the beast so weak, that it had to become a parasite to my fathers' chakra in order to stay alive. My father was only a temporary vessel anyway. The dragon could not be made manifest in a body that had been completely human for years and years. It had to start from scratch and mold its latest container from birth into resurrecting its original body. Otherwise, the demon would be still trying to convert my father into itself many years after my fathers' death. So for the time being, the beast was stuck in my fathers body with no way to get out.**_

_**Meanwhile, my father would be haunted with feelings of frustration at the fact that his master plan was a complete failure. He continued training as best he could, and tried finding some new scheme to get revenge on the Raikage for what happened to him. His efforts however, were always quashed when the limits of his chakra capacity become more prevalent. After awhile, he began to settle down and take a more active role in the colony. He continued in helping to build the colony further, and basically upgrade the quality of life in that godforsaken wasteland. He would eventually begin courting Yuna, and the two developed into a romantic relationship. Eventually the two would consummate their relationship . . . **_

Kunashiro lay in bed asleep next to Yuna, her arm draped over his scared chest and her hair covering most of her face. The room is silent and the entire colony is asleep and sleeping soundly . . . except Kunashiro. Kunashiro is restless, his face covered with sweat as he is suffering from serious nightmares. He moans and groans echo in the room, but are not loud enough to wake Yuna.

Kunashiro envisions a dark cave in his nightmare with an eternal fire burning around him with no end to the flame in sight. He can hear screaming coming from all around him. Men, woman and children all sounding as if they are being burned alive in the heat of the fire. Kunashiro shouts out to try and help them, but no one replies. He can then hear the clanging of metal against metal as the familiar sound of a heated battle becomes louder and louder. The screaming ensues and the battle sounds become more furious. Kunashiro drops to his knees and covers his ears, having succumbed to the intense noise, and just as it seemed that it could not get any louder, the sound stops and an enormous shadow looms over Kunashiro. The shadow moves along over the fire and all of a sudden the screams begin louder then ever before, but as quickly as the screams restarted they stopped yet again. The enormous shadow then stops in front of Kunashiro and Kunashiro finds himself paralyzed by the only things visible on the shadow . . . a pair of piercing green eyes.

The shadow swirls in front of Kunashiro and the shadow begins to change into a silhouette that takes the form of an enormous dragon. Its snake like body coils over and over again and its enormous wings spread out in all directions. Kunashiro reaches for a kunai and readies himself to fight the beast. The shadowy beast then begins to change before Kunashiro's eyes. The shadow reduces in size and takes the form of a small child like figure. Once again the only thing that can be made out is the bright green eyes. The child's eyes flash with a brilliant flash of light, abruptly waking Kunashiro from his nightmare.

Kunashiro awakens in a cold sweat, his breathing heavily labored and all the muscles in his body tensing up and refusing to move. Yuna wakes up next to Kunashiro and attempts to comfort him.

"What's wrong?" Yuna asks, "You have been restless all night and now you're sweating when it is cold in here? Are you ok?"

"I don't . . . I don't know . . . It was just some horrible nightmare." Kunashiro rubs the sweat from his brow with the back of his only hand, and then stops to look at his palm.

Kunashiro finds his palm covered in blood and he lets out a startled shout before shaking his head in an effort to regain his senses.

"_What the hell is going on here. Why am I so freaked out?" _Kunashiro tries his best to regain his composure, but the haunting thoughts and images of his nightmare remain etched into his mind.

"You are starting to scare me Kunashiro." Yuna says with a concerned tone. "Do you need anything? Is there anything I can get you?"

"N-no Yuna . . . it's ok." Kunashiro responds, "I will be fine. Just go back to sleep . . . I will join you shortly."

"Ok then." Yuna says as she lays back down beside Kunashiro. "I hope you aren't getting sick or anything because now that I think about it, I am not feeling too well either."

As Yuna begins to fall asleep, Kunashiro finally manages to regain his senses and he too lays down in bed. _"Whatever that was, I can't help but feel that this is some kind of omen. Either way . . . I'm tired, and I will deal with it all tomorrow." _

Early the next morning Kunashiro wakes up alone. He looks around the room and notices Yuna is no where to be found. He thinks nothing of it and begins to wander around the colony, first stopping off at the reservoir to grab something to drink. Something however, is not right. As Kunashiro advances throughout the colony, he notices that in fact, no one is around. The colony appears to be vacant, with no signs of anyone.

As Kunashiro's curiosity begins to grow, he quickly makes his way to the cave opening, and the only entrance and exit from the colony. As he draws closer and closer to the opening, he begins hearing the voices of the colony members all in a group conversing about something.

"How did it happen?"

"What's going on?"

"Is this a good omen?"

Kunashiro is only able to make out selective sections of the colonists' conversations as he begins to increase his speed toward the opening. Another thing appears to wrong as Kunashiro notices that instead of the subtle and dank darkness of the caves and the colony itself cast upon him, the shadows of the colonists cover every inch of his figure, as if a bright light were shining in front of them.

As Kunashiro reaches the cluster of colonists at the top of the cave shaft he finds himself at a loss for words as the sun shines across his face for the first time in months offering the long awaited warmth that both he and many of the other colonists have yearned for since their incarceration.

"Th-this is impossible . . . there isn't a cloud in the sky . . . the storms have stopped!"

_(Authors Note: Once again sorry for the length of time in between updates but like I stated, things have been hectic lately. I also apologize for the really short chapter compared to my normal work, but I figured I would rather just post quick chapters more often then force everyone to wait so long in between the chapters. Anyway I have moved the back stories into their own section and I will update it as often as possible but in the meantime I am going to do try and update the main fic as well because I have no problems with ideas for that section, and in fact the rough work of it all is actually finished. Anyway if anyone has any comments or questions that they would like to ask you can email me at Thank you all for continuing to read the fic and I will do what I can to make sure you all don't have to wait much longer for the rest of the fic. BTW April 15 is my last day of classes and then most of my time becomes free time in which to focus on writing! Thanks for reading and see you later!)_


	6. The Light And Darkness

**_Toshida Gaiden Chapter 6: The Light and Darkness_**

"What is this?" Kunashiro asks out loud, "Am I dreaming? The storms have stopped completely!"

Kunashiro's fellow colonists cannot help but celebrate the fortunate turn of events as they all cheer aloud as they enjoy the first sunlight they have seen since arriving in the colony. Kunashiro finds himself brandishing a joyous smile as the bright warm sun beams down on his skin. As he looks to the sky, his eyes almost immediately close, having been kept in the dark for so long, the sunlight will take a lot of getting used to.

Kunashiro hears a familiar voice calling to him from several yards to his left. Kunashiro tries to focus in on who is calling for him, but the sunlight is still complicating his vision.

"Shobu is that you?" Kunashiros calls out. "It is so bright out here I can't see a damn thing!"

Kunashiro feels a hand land on his shoulder and the comforting voice of the old man Shobu is recognized by Kunashiro. "Can you believe it young shinobi? The storms have completely stopped! It's a miracle! Maybe the gods have finally decided to act against the injustice of this place and offer us some form of relief."

"I don't know about that old man, I don't know if the gods had anything to do with this. However, I am not going to dismiss the idea!" Kunashiro laughs whole heartily with the old man as the two can barely contain themselves, overwhelmed with joy.

Suddenly, Yuna's father appears from the mouth of the cave with a concerned look on his face. He lays a hand on Shobu's shoulder and whispers something into the old man's ear. Shobu's smile dissipates and he leaves following Keinea closely behind.

Kunashiro remains oblivious to Shobu's absence as he continues to bask in the rays of the morning sun, something he has not been able to do for almost a year already. _"This truly is a miracle. For the place that people once believed was damned, to all of a sudden just turn into such a bright . . ." _Suddenly the reality of the situation becomes evident to Kunashiro. _"The storms were the result of the demon imprisoned in this area. If the storms have stopped . . . then that means that something has changed . . . The demon is no longer sealed in this place . . . but if that is the case then where the hell is it?" _Kunashiro raises his hands and stares coarsely into his palms.

"_Did it work? Is the demon actually inside of me? But I performed that technique months ago and I haven't felt any different since that day. This isn't making any sense at all, if the beast is in me then why the hell can't I do anything with it!" _Kunashiro's mood changes to a frustrated stupor and not even the newly found sunshine can reverse it.

Kunashiro leaves the rest of the colonists at the mouth of the cave and returns to the bowels of the colony shouting out Yuna's name as he moves further. Yuna does not respond to Kunashiro's calls no matter where in the colony he makes them. Kunashiro becomes concerned and he begins to increase the speed of his search until he makes his way to the medical area where he finds Yuna sitting up on the examination bed where Kunashiro has found himself on numerous occasions, with Shobu and Keinea standing by her side almost as if they were waiting for Kunashiro to arrive.

"There you are. I have been looking all over for you." Kunashiro then begins to notice the concerned expression on Yuna and Keinea's face. "Wh . . . what is going on here? Yuna what's wrong?"

Yuna does not answer, and directs her attention to Shobu who has a subtle smile across his face. He turns to Kunashiro and surprises the room by saying, "Congratulations young shinobi . . . you're going to be a father."

Kunashiro's heart skips a beat as the shock sends shivers through his entire body, the only sound that can be heard in Kunashiro's head is the sound of his heart pounding heavier and heavier with each passing millisecond as if trying to burst out of his chest. Yuna's face finally shows emotion and she begins to cry tears of joy seconds before running to embrace the father of her unborn child. The room is silent and Kunashiro's mind is racing a mile a minute.

"_I'm going to be a father . . . I . . . I can't believe it . . . what do I have to teach a child?" _Kunashiros face remains radiant with joy as he turns to Yuna. "I am so happy right now. You have no idea." He embraces Yuna tightly until the realization begins to hit him. Kunashiro's face turns white and his expression begins to change to one of fear, as he begins to remember the dream he had the previous night. The visions of the dragon like shadow with the piercing green eyes contorting into the shape of a young child haunt Kunashiro's mind in that moment.

"_The demon has been released . . . that just wasn't any dream that I had . . . it was a premonition of sorts . . . the technique did work . . . but the beast isn't in me anymore, it is in the child. Or rather the demon is the child . . . This is unexpected . . . I don't know what to do." _Kunashiro begins to panic in his own mind as it draws conclusions left and right, to everyone else, the room is silent enough to hear a pin drop, but to Kunashiro the sounds of his own thoughts are deafening.

The silence however, is abruptly broken by the sound of Keinea hitting the floor, having fainted in response to the shocking news. Shobu rushes quickly to Keinea's side laughing under his breath at the awkward situation created by the soon to be grandfather of the couples unborn child.

_**My father for the first time was becoming human. Before he was a heartless machine, but from what I hear the thoughts of him becoming a father was enough to make him reconsider his place in life. My father knew what I was before I was even born but he withheld the information from my mother in fear that she would over react and make his secret known to the rest of the colony. Hmpf . . . most mothers would "over react" at the idea of their first born child being the spawn of some monster. I suppose it was better that my mother never knew for her own good and her own sanity.**_

_**Nine months would go by with my parents marrying one another in a private ceremony held outside the colony in the open air and sunshine. They spent a lot of time deciding on a name for their child and eventually they decided on Toshida. Both of them were happy as can be. **_

_**The happiness my father felt would be short lived of coarse . . . everything changed for him the day I was born. Shobu would be named my godfather and was the one that overlooked the delivery . . . **_

Kunashiro sits next to an exhausted Yuna at the side of the examination table used to make the delivery. Yuna holds the newborn baby in her arms and smiles as she passes the child off to Kunashiro. "Meet your son Kunashiro****" Yuna says, as tears roll down her cheek.

Kunashiro's face brandishes an uncharacteristic smile from ear to ear as he is captivated by his newborn son's face. The baby's eyes are closed and the boy remains quiet and stoic in his father's arms.

"Welcome to the world Akira Toshida." Kunashiro whispers, as his eyes tear up. Shobu looks on happily and then directs his attention to Yuna to assess her condition, making sure the delivery did not have any unexpected complications.

"I'm your father." Kunashiro says to the newborn child. Kunashiro repositions the boy in front of him so that he may further examine his new son. He inadvertently tickles the under arm of the baby and the baby smiles and for the first time opens his eyes to the world.

Kunashiro is caught off guard as the boy opens his eyes revealing the same piercing green eyes that Kunashiro dreamed of the night the storms stopped in the colony.

"_D-dear god . . . I was right . . . the demon is in the child . . . Toshida is . . . is . . . the dragon!"_

Kunashiro finds himself staring blankly into the penetrating eyes of his own son and slowly watches them fade from the reptilian shape and bright color, to a subtle brown human eye reminiscent of those possessed by Kunashiro. Kunashiro shakes his head in an effort to determine whether or not it was all his imagination playing tricks on him.

"_This is unexpected . . . I am not sure what this means . . ." _

_**It was about that time that my father realized exactly what it was that he wanted to do about the situation.**_

"_If I can't have the power that the demon offered . . . then I will have complete control over who does." _Kunashiro's mind once again fills with his sinister thoughts of revenge as he looks at the metal cap that lies on top of the stump that used to be his hand. _"This works out even better than I had planned . . . I have access to an untarnished tool. My own son will become the implement of that bastard's demise . . . The Raikage would never expect a boy to make an attempt on his life . . . and under normal circumstances no child would be able to succeed . . . but my son on the other hand . . . has something that no one else has . . . he has access to a well of chakra far beyond even his own understanding . . . killing the Raikage will be only the beginning for us Toshida . . . I expect you and me to do a lot of father son bonding in the next few years."_

Kunashiro's mind races with the infinite possibilities that have arisen from this turn of events, and he finally realizes that the day of his revenge . . . has come within arms reach.

"_I have to tell you again son . . ._

_. . . welcome to the world_."


	7. Finding The Heart Of A Child

_**Toshida Gaiden Chapter 7: Finding the Heart of A Child**_

Toshida sits curled up in the dugout he has created for their break under neath the shadow of a collapsed tree in a ditch dug roughly a meter into the ground. His heavy coat and scarf lay on top of him as his extra blankets from his supply bag guard his body from the cold earth beneath him. Kakashi sits across the outcropping the two have created on the other side of the small fire the two have created to keep them warm. Kakashi sits with his single uncovered eye staring at Toshida as he awaits the tale in which Toshida has promised.

"All right then Kakashi, I will tell you another bed time story then." Toshida says as he adjusts his coat and lays down in his dugout.

"Shut up and talk" Kakashi says sternly as he puts out the fire in front of him as to not attract any guards or patrols to their position, as they are still far behind enemy lines.

"All right relax. Geez you have no sense of humor. I suppose I will start with what I can remember . . ."

The scene changes to the village of sin when Toshida was only two years old. His father Kunashiro sits across the table from him as Toshida sits quietly and unusually focused for a child of his age. No expression on the young boy's face as he stares straight ahead, his back straightened against the back of his chair and his arms hanging in close to his body running parallel to his spine. The child's posture is perfect and his manners as equally impressive, reminiscent of a soldier more then 10 times his age.

His father begins eating away at the evenings meal of fish and mushrooms gathered from the bowels of the village of sins massive cave system. Kunashiro continues eating his food as Toshida's food sits in front of him, getting colder the longer that it sits in front of him. Toshida does not look at the food and does not flinch even as the loud grumbling of his stomach becomes deafening to his ears.

"You may eat Toshida." Kunashiro's words act as the password to Toshida's stomach and Toshida immediately devours the entire plate in front if him in a matter of minutes. Never once showing any reckless restraint in his eating habits as he maintains all proper etiquette that a civilized person would show when eating. "I see that you have developed quite the hunger Toshida. You will always remember that unless I tell or order you to do something, no matter what it is. You will do nothing. Is that understood?"

The young child nods as he wipes the last morsels of food from around his mouth. Kunashiro then stands up and begins cleaning the dishes from the meal as Toshida follows suit. As he walks, it becomes evident that he coordination is far more advanced than any child his age. He walks straight without stuttering or stopping and his posture while walking even resembles that of a soldier.

After the two have cleaned up from their dinner Kunashiro kneels before his son as he has some last words to tell his child before retiring for the night. "Toshida, I stand corrected. You will also listen to what your mother tells you. Never dispute her words and listen to what she tells you as well. Is that understood?"

Toshida nods once again as Kunashiro returns the gesture and the two retire for the night, Kunashiro to his bed where his wife Yuna lies beside him, and Toshida to his bedroom which lies in a separate room several meters away from his parents room.

_**My father had a method to all his words and actions. My posture was set to be perfect as to show respect to my superiors as well as keeping me ready at all times. My needing permission even to eat was to establish a hierarchy between me and my father as well as having me learn at an early age the importance of following orders and not acting on my own. Having my room separate and a distance away from my parent's bedroom, was implemented to make me more independent, and capable of surviving on my own. A small step of coarse but merely a beginning to what would become a life's worth of training. All of his methods were designed to have me seasoned into the perfect soldier, the perfect weapon.**_

_**Over the years while other kids my age would be just learning how to walk and learn how to read, I was learning how to throw a shuriken or how to attack with a kunai. And When other kids were learning nursery rhymes or playing outside in parks with the other kids, I was learning about anatomy and where the fatal spots were on a human body. **_

**_My training was rigorous and never ending. Most children, even those brought up in clans with a strong shinobi heritage, have training that leaves time for them to develop as people, whether allowing them to play with other children or teaching them simple things such as history or geography. My father believed that a weapon had no need for such futile things. When I was not physically training with him, then my time was spent studying anatomy or shuriken tactics, or reading about and practicing sword techniques. There was no time for a child's mind to develop. I was a machine . . . my fathers own personal pet in which he took every opportunity to take advantage of._** **_By the time I was four years old, I had all the training that an academy student twice my age would have._**

_**There was never any objection from other members of the colony. Not from my grandfather Keinea, or my godfather Shobu. No one had anything to object against my father . . . most likely because Kunashiro was feared throughout the colony even after he was accepted as an official resident by the people. My father's actions since I was born had become increasingly erratic. He was more irritable and seemingly sinister, the thoughts of his revenge had simply consumed his entire being, and his sanity some would say would soon be the next thing to start to decline. No one dared to oppose him though because of his instability. That is until one night I was woken up by the sounds of my father and mother locked in a heated argument . . . **_

"He is just a boy! There is no reason he should have to be put through all of this." Yuna's voice awakens Toshida from his slumber as her voice echoes through the small series of caves dedicated to the Akira family.

"He is a very special boy, and he is my son and I will raise him as I see fit." Kunashiro fires back with a voice much more calm then Yuna's. However, his voice contains a more sinister edge to it. His voice is hiding something . . . he does not wish Yuna to know what he has done to their son.

"Our son Kunashiro . . . Toshida is OUR SON!" Yuna screams in anger as her voice begins to crack and her sobs become enough to cause Toshida to investigate. He makes his way out of his room and down the hall to just outside his parent's bedroom where the argument is taking place. "He should have all the opportunities that any child his age should have, and you are stealing those opportunities from him!"

"What opportunities' Yuna? We are in a fucking prison colony for god sakes what the hell kind of opportunities do you think a child of his age has!" Kunashiro's voice towers of Yuna's as the argument continues to heat up. However Yuna does not back down from her husband and stands her ground showing no fear.

"I was his age once . . . and I lived in this place as well and I have turned out just fine. My father and I made due with what we had and managed to improvise to help me turn into a healthy young adult. But what you are doing, is turning our son into a pet . . . NO! You are turning him into a weapon to accomplish YOUR own goals . . . and without taking into consideration as to whether or not that is what Toshida wants!"

"He has shown no objection or a desire to do anything else so why are you making this an issue."

"There are no other children his age living in the colony at this point and you have been training him like a dog since he was old enough to understand what you were saying . . . how is he supposed to even know what else he could be doing?"

Kunashiro takes a deep breath as he tries to remain calm during the argument as he is at a loss for words and cannot figure out what to offer in retort to his wife's argument. "Yuna . . . I swore . . . that I would not rest until I had my revenge on the ones that did this to me." Kunashiro raises his left arm brandishing the metal cap still fixed on the end of his severed hand and forearm. "I am unable to do it by myself . . . and our son may be the key to helping me accomplish my goal. And if he can help me with that . . . then he can also help us and everyone in this colony to escape from this place."

Toshida sneaks his head around the corner to get a look at the two as they continue their argument. He can see Kunashiro with his back to Yuna as she tries desperately to get the stern shinobi to understand her point of view.

"Why would we need to escape from here Kunashiro?" Yuna asks, her voice starting to choke as tears begin rolling down her cheeks. "The storms in this place are gone now . . . in the last few years, grass, plants and flowers have started to grow. We may not need to leave this place. The other colonists are talking about starting our own REAL colony here. With agriculture and farming . . . starting families in a more hospitable atmosphere. Either way Kunashiro . . . the people here . . . don't want to leave. This is our home and we are content to stay here and make it the best possible home for all of us."

Yuna's words enrage Kunashiro as the thoughts of him being forced to remain in the village of sin, and the possibility of never tasting the revenge he has sought after for the last four years send him over the edge. He reals his right arm forward almost parallel with his left shoulder and swings it in anger striking Yuna across the face with a heavy backhanded blow. The blow shocks Yuna as she is sent to the ground holding her cheek, a bruise already starting to take form as the discoloring of her skin begins. Tears roll down her face as she looks up to her angered husband still towering over her in a rage seemingly ready to strike again.

_**At that moment, my eyes made eye contact with mothers'. She looked over from the ground she had been knocked down to and looked deep into my eyes. At that point in my life . . . I had never seen fear and that fear . . . frightened me in return. My mother did not dare to speak out against my father at this point. But when my father closed his eyes to remove the hair from his face, she mouthed the words . . . **_

"_Help me." _Yuna mouths the words to her son in the hopes that he will run to his grandfathers room and bring him to help. Or to grab one of the other villagers to come to her aid. However, Toshida's face changes from its shocked expression to its cold and stoic glare as he races into the room.

_**Then I did the only thing I could think of to do at that point. I used what my father had taught me . . . and I defended my mother.**_

"_**Zaigou Senpuu! **(Sinful Whirlwind) _Toshida screams, as he leaps into the air and using the first technique his father ever taught him, spins around in mid air and unleashes a thunderous spin kick, connected the side of his left foot to Kunashiro's temple, sending him staggering. Toshida readies himself for a counter strike from his father, readying his left arm in front of him ready to block as his right arm is hooked back and his fist clenched ready to strike at a moments notice.

As Kunashiro regains his composure, he looks to his son with a look of intense rage. He readies his right hand for a strike against his own son. _"Such strength . . . I had no idea that the dragon would increase his strength so much . . . and at his age!" _Kunashiro watches on in horror as his sons eyes change from their determined brown eyed glare to the eyes that have become known as those of the dragon's. The bright green glow is visible only to Kunashiro who can only look on in fear. _"I cannot risk getting him angry enough to have him demonstrate what the dragon can do. I need to relax." _

Kunashiro lowers his defenses and regains his composure. Toshida follows his father's example and he too lowers his guard. Meanwhile, his eyes change back into the stoic brown glare that his father has grown accustom to.

"We will talk about this tomorrow Toshida. Go back to bed." Kunashiro says in a calm and dignified voice as he points toward the boys' room.

Yuna looks up at her husband who lowers his head in shame at his actions. She stands to her feet with tears still in her eyes. She swings back and slaps Kunashiro across the face sending out a booming echo throughout the colony. Kunashiro lowers his head again after the blow and does not look his wife in the eyes. After a few moments of silence, Yuna leaves the room and heads toward the section dedicated to her father. Kunashiro would stay awake most of the night thinking about his actions . . . not getting any sleep until the early hours of the morning.

The next day Toshida awakens and goes about his normal routine, getting dressed for the day and gather whatever equipment he needs for his training regiment for the day. Today is a Tuesday, meaning its shuriken practice. He grabs a heavy sash from a rack located on his wall built out of hardened clay and slabs of rock. The sash is lined with a number of different throwing weapons such as kunai, shuriken, small polearms and several lengths of kurot wire. All of the throwing weapons are evidently homemade, consisting of any number of materials, tied together with yarn or old lengths of hair. Toshida makes his way out of the section of caves dedicated to his family and all the way outside the colony. He makes his way down from the hill side in which the caves lie to the spot where he and his father train every day.

The sun is out and shining bright as Toshida continues walking through the once barren wasteland of the village of sin. Instead of blackened rock and dirt underneath his sandal-clad feet, the dirt around him show signs of life as blades of grass have begun to grow in the area, as well as several kinds of plants and flowers. As Toshida reaches the area that he and his father use for training, he finds the area deserted. His father is no where to be found.

"Father is always here before me. I am here at this time every day, why isn't he here?" Toshida asks out loud, not expecting anyone to actually answer.

"Daddy has a lot to think about hunny." A voice comes from behind Kunashiro, just behind a large bunch of rocks several meters from the beginning of the mountains in which the village caves lie buried. As the voice comes closer to Toshida, he soon realizes that it is his mother Yuna. "He didn't sleep much last night, so he is going to sleep most of today. I will take over your training for today."

"I don't understand" Toshida says as he looks at his mother with a confused yet inquisitive look. "But it is shuriken practice today, are you going to help me with my technique mother?"

"No Toshida I'm not." Yuna says as she brushes her chestnut brown hair out of her face revealing the bruise left on her face from Kunashiros blow the previous night. "I am going to teach you about other things today. And if it is ok with you . . . I would like to keep teaching you those things until you chose not to learn them anymore. But I want it all to be your choice after today. Is that ok?"

"Yes mother." Toshida says, without showing the enthusiasm of a child his age, but showing the discipline shown by an experience soldier.

Toshida's mother show tears falling from her cheeks as the baby boy she nursed from birth has become the weapon his father wanted. The realization is one that breaks Yuna's heart as Toshida remains standing tall and straight like a soldier awaiting his next order.

"Toshida don't call me mother." Yuna says, getting a confused reaction out of her son. "I don't want you to be so uptight around me. When you are around your father, you can act however it is that he wants you to act . . . but don't act that way with me. You can call me mommy, you can laugh, you can smile. Whatever it is you want to do, I want you to do it. Do you understand?"

Toshida only shakes his head in confusion as his mothers words and requests don't make sense to young shinobi. Yuna simply grabs the young shinobi's hand and leads him to a small grouping of flowers several meters away from where to two once stood.

Yuna reaches down and plucks a bright red flower from the batch and gives it to Toshida. "Toshida, do you know what kind of flower this is?"

**_Of coarse I didn't know what kind of flower it was. I didn't even know what it was that my mother was trying to do at that time. She would later go on to explain what kind of flower it was, why it had a red colour, why it grows where it grows and what kind of flowers go good when arranged next to it. My mother would teach me all sorts of things about flower arranging, gardening and many other womanly things. As if she were trying to raise a daughter rather then a son. I was intrigued by the information that I received from her at the time. So when it came time for me to meet with her again, I jumped at the opportunity._** **_She would teach me how to write in calligraphy, how to cook, how to clean . . . how to play shogi . . . everything that a kid my age should have begun to learn. For the first time in my life I was actually happy. I had never known what that felt like. To me before, my father made it out to seem like I had to keep a cold outlook on everything and to simply be content with what was happening, never showing happiness and never showing anger. That way I would always be ready to react to any situation. But when I was with my mother, I was having fun learning what she was teaching me . . . I was happy just being with her._**

_**My mother would also sit me down one day and gave me something that I still carry with me at all times to this day . . . **_

"Hear Toshida, I brought something for you." Yuna reaches behind into a satchel she had been carrying on her back, unties the restraint and gives the satchel to Toshida. As Toshida opens the satchel he reaches inside and pulls out his mothers long wooden flute.

"Your flute? But this is yours mom. What am I going to do with it?"

"I have seen you watching me this last few weeks while I play my flute at night. Whenever you watch me do something, or your father do something during your training, I know that you have the uncanny ability to mimic what you see very well. You still need practice at whatever it is you are trying to learn, but you have always been a fast learner. I want you to have this flute and play it everyday. Do you understand?"

"I . . . I will try mom. But you're really good at it. I can't mimic your playing, you're too good."

"You don't have to be as good as me or play perfectly Toshida. I just want you to have a hobby like this. Play whenever you are sad . . . or you can play when you're happy. Just play when you are feeling something!" Yuna then grabs the flute from Toshida and brings it to her mouth. "No here Toshida, I am going to play you a song and I want you to watch me perfectly, listen to the notes, watch my fingering and learn this song. I want you to remember this no matter what. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mommy. I understand." Toshida says with a smile on his face.

_**My mother would then teach me the song that I still play every night before heading to bed for the night. I became accustom to playing that song whenever I felt unhappy, or when I was happy . . . in fact it is really one of the only songs I know how to play on that flute. Eventually . . . it would become the only lasting memory I have of my mother**_

_**We always met in secret away from my father for months. And I was never to tell anyone what it was that my mother had been teaching me, for fear that my father would be angered by such news. So I never told my father anything. Then one day my mother and I were sitting at our usual meeting place . . . and she seemed to have a lot on her mind. She seemed unusually upset . . . I would find out years later what it was that my mother was upset about . . . **_

"Toshida," Yuna says, getting the attention of her son. "Do you ever cry?"

"Do I ever cry?" Toshida begins to think as far back as he can remember, and no memory comes to mind of him ever shedding tears. "No mommy, I can't say that I ever have. Why are you asking?"

"I can't remember either. I can't remember you ever crying because you were hurt . . . or sad . . . even when you were a baby . . . you never cried.

"But why is that important mom?"

"Do you know what tears are Toshida?"

"Yes. They are another way for your body to release adrenaline to prevent . . ."

"I know that you know what they are literally, but do you know what tears symbolize in children?"

"Um . . . no mom . . . I don't" The question put before him has Toshida perplexed as he tries to understand the hidden meaning behind shedding tears.

"Tears Toshida . . . is a symbol of your innocence. Every child is born innocent Toshida. I was, you were, every child is born with a clean slate and a life that is white and blank. It's their life to control . . . their destiny to manipulate."

"Why are you telling me this mom?"

"I am telling you this because your father has been trying to steal your innocence since the day you were born. He has been trying to manipulate you into living the life that he wants you live to fulfill his own personal desires. And that's not right!" Tears begin to roll down Yuna's cheek as the knowledge she possesses has begun to tear away at the poor woman's heart.

_(Music: Queue "Sadness and Sorrow" (Piano version only) from the Naruto OST_)

"Mom . . . what's wrong . . . why are you crying?"

**_At the time I didn't know what it was that was tearing away at my mother . . . but I would later find out, that she had stumbled on my fathers records from the time in which he had sealed the dragon in himself. As if the thoughts of her husband, wishing to become the vessel for a being of such power and evil . . . but she had also read . . . that I had become the container for the beast. Her heart was slowly breaking as she trying to look at me as a normal boy . . . her son. But unfortunately . . . it was just too much for her heart to bare._** **_After all . . . what mother would be able to handle the fact that her son was a monster . . . _**

"I . . . I'm just . . . I love you Toshida. I don't want you to ever forget that no matter what." Yuna's tear filled eyes look deep into Toshida's as she pours her heart out to the child. "Toshida, I don't want you ever to forget this . . ."

_**My mother would then tell me something that would eventually change my life forever . . . for better . . . or for worse . . . **_

" . . . never forget your innocence. No matter what your father tells you, you are a good boy. You are a child with a promising future . . . and nothing that he could ever do and ever will do, will change that. He wants you to take the life of his enemies for him . . . and by doing so . . . he would gladly have you lose your innocence for the pursuit of his own revenge. If you take a life Toshida . . . you have robbed someone of their innocence . . . and robbed yourself of your own. You have to do whatever you can in order maintain your innocence . . . if you lose it . . . there may be nothing you can do to redeem yourself. And if that happens . . . you may never be able to live the life you were promised at birth . . . one that you set for yourself."

Yuna then breaks down and cries, pulling her son close to her, clutching him tightly in her arms as she cries heavily on his shoulder.

"Mom . . . you're scaring me." Toshida says as a tear forms in his eye for the first time in his young life. He reaches a hand up to his eye and wipes the tear from the corner, and then examines the strange dew left on the side of his finger. _"What . . . What is this feeling?"_

_**I didn't know it at the time . . . but it wouldn't be long until I ever felt that feeling again . . . and again . . . and again.**_


	8. The Night of The Weeping Sin

_**Toshida Gaiden Chapter 8: Night of The Weeping Sin**_

Toshida and Kakashi walk along in the ruins of the former prison colony that was known by its residents as the village of sin. It has been years since the colony has seen any residents and many years since Toshida returned to sight of his painful upbringing.

As he walks along the outside of the cave system, he notices three old logs, cracked and broken and laying on the ground. With a flash, Toshida can see the logs as he remembers them, standing upright with the targets that he and his father painted on for target practice. As Toshida moves closer to the downed targets, he kneels down and notices an old homemade shuriken made out of two pieces of flintstone and tied with seaweed to create a surprisingly balanced throwing weapon.

It becomes evident to Kakashi that the revisit to his former home is an emotional event for the young but talented shinobi. "What happened here?" Kakashi asks as he surveys' the destroyed landscape. Houses created outside are no dilapidated and partially destroyed, evidence of damage caused by fire remaining evident.

As Toshida looks up to the scorched sky above him, he feels an overwhelming sense of depression as the sky above remains rolling with constant storms, rolling lightning, and fierce thunder. In Toshida's mind the storm filled sky begins to part and fade away revealing the bright and vibrant sun filled sky he knew in his childhood.

**_After my mother had that talk with me outside the colony, we both retired for the evening._** **_When I woke up in the morning, I left to meet with my father at our usual training site. When I arrived, I noticed that he was waiting with supplies and rations for an extended trip. _**

"Father, what is with all of the supplies?" Toshida asks as he looks to the angry scowl brandished across his father's face.

"You . . . and I . . . have a lot of catching up to do my son." Kunashiro throws a full pack of supplies to his son who catches it and cradles the heavy bag in his arms. "We are going on an expedition for a few days. I have packed enough for both of us. We leave . . . immediately."

_**I didn't know it at the time, but I would learn that my father had learned about my mothers teachings and had even gone as far as to spy on us during our meetings. Needless to say, he was not happy about the idea of his "weapon" being weakened by such trivial things like music, art, and calligraphy. We set out immediately into the wasteland just as it began to rain. **_

Toshida and Kunashiro walk away from the caves and caverns of the village of sin as they begin their prolonged training session out in the elements. As the two walk away, Toshida looks behind him to see his mother standing at the mouth of the cave, tears still in her eyes, waving as her son walks away.

_**We would train out in the desert area for three days and two nights learning how to survive out in the elements and how to create weapons out of anything around. We would also have our standard shuriken and taijutsu training, merely amplified. My father would rush at me with full killer intent and test my resolve, and my willingness to survive. There was a number of times during our training that I thought my father actually would kill me. Never before had I seen anger in his eyes so intense. It was then that I began to think that my father knew what my mother had been doing, and knowing that I could put up a fight, my father took his anger out on me.**_

_**After our training sessions were complete, we set back to return to the village of sin on the third night. We traveled for several hours . . . until we could see the smoke billowing from over the horizon.**_

"Father, what is that?" Toshida ask's as his concern begins to show in his voice and expression.

"I don't . . . I don't know . . . THE VILLAGE!" Kunashiro shouts just before he starts a high speed sprint toward the smoke-filled horizon with Toshida in tow.

The two would race for another hour as the smoke and flames get closer and closer to them. The heat beginning to be felt on their faces as they approach what is mow a smoldering ruin.

The two shinobi walk into the village area and they can see all of the outside encampments and shelters burned to the ground, with remnants of homemade pottery and other utensils, smashed and strewn across the landscape.

_**We searched throughout the wreckage and sifted through the burning rubble in search of survivors. After examining the area, we could see blood trails and splashes strewn about the sand and rocks, it became evident that the village had been attacked, but we didn't know by whom.**_

_**My father searched frantically, more determined and upset than I had ever seen him. He was looking for my mother . . . and so was I. But I could feel deep down in my gut that we would not find anything that we were going to like . . . and when we approached the mouth of the cave . . . we saw the pile.**_

**_A pile was made in front of the mouth of the cave of all those that been killed in the conflict . . . there were . . . pieces . . . and remnants of what used to be the people that I knew growing up. All of them had been set ablaze and had obviously been burning for a number of hours._** **_By the time we got their . . . most of the villagers were reduced to ash. The smell . . . was sickening. Sometimes I can still smell it when I close my eyes . . . and I can feel the intense heat on my face even to this day._**

Kunashiro watches on in horror as he can see the remnants of the villagers go up literally in smoke and the ashes billow into the sky. He searches around the area of the fire searching for even some sort of proof that is beloved Yuna is not amongst the burning corpses. When his search is to no avail, Kunashiro drops to his knees and weeps. Screaming out into the sky as he watches the entire village . . . his entire home . . . and the love of his life burning away.

_**My father may have had his faults . . . and he may have been very angry at my mother for what she had been teaching me . . . but he loved her with all of his heart. And when he lost her . . . a big part of him died as well.**_

As Kunashiro's weeping slows down and he begins to regain his composure, and an angered look makes its way onto his face. "Who . . . who did this? WHO DID THIS!" Kunashiro screams as he smacks a piece of the burning wreckage away from him.

"Father!" Toshida hollers out drawing his father's attention and sending him running to his position. As Kunashiro makes his way to Toshida's position, Toshida says, in a disturbed yet curious voice. "What is this?"

Kunashiro directs his attention to his son's finding, and instead of finding a survivor like Kunashiro had hoped, Kunashiro finds himself looking down on the sword of Murakakumo, stuck firmly into the ground behind the pile of burning corpses. Kunashiro's face files with rage as he remembers back to when he was first injured and banished to the village of sin. He looks down to the ominous steel cap placed on his amputated hand and remembers how it was ruthlessly chopped off by Shin who at the time was wielding the very sword that Kunashiro finds himself looking down upon once again. It is then that Kunashiro realizes who the attackers were . . .

"SHIN!" Kunashiro hollers out bring the tears flooding back to his eyes as he drops to his knees and clutches the handle of his old sword. The sword's handle has been heated by the funeral pyre behind it and the very handle burns Kunashiro's flesh. Kunashiro however does not flinch as the sizzling of his own skin echoes through his own head. _"You took my arm . . . you took my freedom and banished me to this place . . . and you took . . . my beloved wife. And now you leave my sword . . . your old trophy behind to mock me? I may not be able to defeat you in my state Shin, but I swear to you . . . through my son . . . I will have my revenge. I SWEAR IT!"_

_**We searched the remnants of the outside village and noticed that they had not made it into the caves when they attacked. It seems that everyone was outside enjoying the weather and sunlight when they attacked, and when the attack began, everyone stormed out from the caves to see what was going on. We searched the caves and confirmed, that no one had been left alive.**_

**_We grabbed as many supplies as we could carry and we readied ourselves to leave the village. We left everything behind that we couldn't carry or we didn't need_** . . . **_and armed to the teeth . . . we set out toward the guard towers to the south with the intent of killing anyone that was left to block our escape. We were both enraged . . . I was only four years old at the time . . . but I thought that I would at least be able to help my father kill each and every one of the guards we encountered. But to our surprise, when we arrived at the guard towers, they had recently been abandoned. My father believed that they likely abandoned the towers when they realized that they had no reason to stand guard anymore. All of the colonists were dead . . . and they had assumed that my father was with them. I found out later that Shin never took part in the attack, but gave my father's sword to the shinobi he sent to use as a gravestone for the innocent people they would soon murder._**

_**We made our way south and traveled for the night . . . **_

Toshida turns to his father as they sit around a camp fire they created for the night. "What are we going to do now father?" The young Toshida asks.

"We are going to find somewhere to live. Not far from here are the five finger mountain ranges, which contain a lot of caves and caverns. You and I both know how to live and survive in caves so that should make for a good shelter for now."

"But after we find a place to live . . . then what?"

"After that my son, we need to move onto the next phase . . . and the beginning of your involvement in my plan."

"The plan?" Toshida asks.

"Yes my son. You should know by now, that you are vital in my plan to take back what I have lost. And in doing so, I will give you all that you were denied living in that colony."

"But father . . . how are we going to do that? What am I supposed to do?" Toshida's voice begins to crack as tears begin to form in his eyes. As his father turns to him and makes eye contact with the young boy's eyes, Toshida straightens up and responds in the tone he had shown before when he was nothing more then his father's weapon. "I mean, What do you ask of me father?" Toshida says, displaying all the seasoned character that would be expected of a hardened soldier.

Kunashiro looks on and nods in approval at the showing of obedience from his son and he smiles in satisfaction. "Well my son, when we have found a place to live . . . then it will be time for you . . . to go to the cloud village."

"The cloud village?" Toshida asks.

"Yes my son . . . you . . . are going to the academy."


	9. Days In The Cloud: Toshida vs Seshen

_**Toshida Gaiden Chapter 9: Days in The Cloud - Toshida vs. Seshen**_

**_Several days after my father's announcing of my academy enlistment, we made our way to the cloud village._** **_We traveled light and moved with the utmost in stealth so that we would no be discovered by the border patrols which at the time were no where near as thorough as they are nowadays. When I made it close enough to the village to navigate on my own, my father sent me in to enlist in the academy which during those days, held open registration for any applicants throughout the country four times a year. Every three months at the beginning of every season, the Raikage would personally oversee all the new students that had entered into the academy. The age restrictions were a minimum age of four years old and reaching a maximum at twelve years of age before a student was denied entry. My father had planned our arrival for the first day of autumn, and I made my way to the registry. Only four years old at the time, I was the youngest of all the entries during that particular registration. I filled out the application forms and claimed to be an orphan from the northern Denkoushi province, which is roughly two miles from the sin village. I told them I just recently lost my parents in an accident and came to the academy to become a shinobi and serve my country like my parents wanted. Hmpf . . . an interesting bull shit story don't you think?_**

_**I gained acceptance and for the next few years I would train in the academy and learn all of the traits and techniques required to make it as a shinobi from the cloud village . . . and that would be where I met a very interesting young man . . . **_

The scene changes to a shuriken training ground just outside the cloud village shinobi academy when Toshida is six years old. The shinobi academy resembles the shape of a more circular layered structure, almost like a snow man style shape with three large rounded shapes staked on top of and blending into one another. The weather in the village is cold and frigid as it is the height of the winter season. There is a layer of snow on the ground and the surrounding village roughly an inch thick and in some places more then three feet due to the heavy winds during this time of year. There are roughly twelve young shinobi students all clad in dark cloaks to help protect from the bitter cold and stinging wind, and two sensei's overseeing the practice exercise. The cloaks are dark and made of wool, with two sleeves, a wool belt to keep the cloak closed and a hood. Many of the young students do not wear their hoods up, as it hinders their vision and ability to properly throw a shuriken.

The first student in the line up approaches the throwing line and readies her shuriken. After the order is given from the sensei to proceed, the young girl throws a compliment of three shuriken in quick succession at the target. Her score is poor and is documented at scoring two hits in the outermost ring and one of her shuriken did not hit the target at all. The first sensei marks down her score in the target, while the other make's comments about the girls form, technique, reaction and recovery from the throw. The girl then moves away from the line up and awaits the finish of the other students.

The students would systematically go through the line and test their shuriken skills while getting marked. The seventh student in the lineup, manages to miss the target with every shuriken volley that he throws and is quick to protest the exercise and give an excuse.

"Sensei this isn't fair!" The young boy says protests, "It is too windy out here to get a decent throw off. What is this exercise supposed to prove anyway?"

"Move to the side student." The first sensei says in a stern voice. "You have already failed this test, so don't bother trying to humiliate yourself even more by complaining like a spoiled child!"

The second sensei soon enters the conversation with an explanation for the student's question. "Situations on the battlefield are not always going to be ideal for throwing shuriken. We purposely picked this time, when the winds were at their highest for the week to hold this test. We are seeing how well you all adapt to the change in weather and to see if you can still manage to hit the targets."

"Yea, and so far no one has managed to hit a bull's eye yet." The first sensei adds. "Next up! Toshida, It's your turn."

Toshida steps up to the throwing line with his hood placed over his head and slightly over the top of his face. He shifts his cloak off to the side on his right and readies his hand for the throw. With a backward nod of his head, the hood of his cloak falls off from his head and Toshida makes his throw. Grasping the first shuriken in his index finger and removing it from the holster, and in the same motion, using his middle and then his ring finger to remove the other two shuriken. With a calculated swing of his arm the three shuriken leave his hand systematically and speed toward the target, as Toshida follows through, finishing with his right hand running parallel with his left shoulder.

"Excellent Toshida!" The first sensei shouts as he examines the target.

The first shuriken landed in the left most edge of the bulls eye, the second shuriken landing on the right most edge, and the third hitting dead center, leaving only a centimeter in between each shuriken.

"I must say, I am not all that surprised though." The second sensei says, "Sometimes I wonder what exactly we are going to have to do in order to get you to actually fail one of these tests Toshida. We have thrown just about every obstacle possible into your way kid and still you have yet to come anything lower then the top of the class."

Toshida smiles as he has gained even more encouragement and praise from his sensei's. His smiling is cut short quickly when three shuriken fly just inches away from the left side of his head. Two of the shuriken land in between the three bulls eye shuriken thrown by Toshida. The third shuriken was thrown with such precision and force that it actually stabs the dead center bull's eye shuriken's outermost point and remains stuck tip to tip, as it has also thrust Toshida's shuriken further into the target.

As Toshida looks over his left shoulder, he can see a young academy student standing seven meters behind Toshida, and a total of ten meters back from the throwing line that has been drawn twenty meters away from the target. Both sensei's begin to smile and clap as they see the result of the young man's throw and almost immediately know who the young man is.

"Well I cannot say I am all that surprised that you were able to pull that off kid. Good work."

"Well I guess it should be expected from the Raikage's child."

The young man then removes his hood revealing a young and confident Seshen Raiken, the Raikage's adopted son.

"Dammit Seshen!" Toshida snaps, "There was no need for that. You almost clipped my ear!"

"Sorry Toshida." Says an arrogant Seshen, "I just wanted to make sure that ego of yours stopped swelling before your head exploded. So really I was just trying to do you a favor. Besides, what's the matter? Are you afraid of getting a little scratch on that pretty face of yours?" Seshen says in a sarcastic and mocking tone.

Toshida smiles with an arrogant smirk of his own. "No. It's just that I didn't want to have the responsibility of telling the Raikage why his son got his ass handed to him at school today. So actually, I am just doing you a favor."

The two sensei's laugh as they break up the two shinobi and keep their argument from coming to strikes. "All right you two, that's enough."

"Yea guys, break it up and get back into line."

_**Seshen and I were always trying to one up the other. I would pull of a perfect mark in a test, and Seshen would find some way to beat me. He would clock in a record setting time in the obstacle course, and I would break his record. One way or another, we were always in competition for the top of the class. I had the advantage in that I started in the academy at four years old and at the time had two years of experience in the academy over him. But he was a year older and didn't join the academy until he was six years old. But up until that time he had received personal tutelage from the Raikage himself. **_

All of the students are seating in one of the large lecture theaters on the academy's grounds. One of the jounin sensei's at the academy has taken center stage as a number of the genin move to the front of the stands and take positions on the main floor.

"All right students, today we will be practicing the Hyouton (ice element) technique that we were studying yesterday. This is either a pass or fail test and if the sculpture is not perfect then you simply fail. You will all be creating an ice sculpture of Raikage-sama. You have 30 seconds to complete the technique, from hand seals, to chakra molding, to the finished product." The sensei looks down the line as all of the students take their positions. "This is a chuunin level technique remember, and it requires perfect chakra control and attention to small details, so don't feel bad if you do not pass this test. You will be tested on it again, likely in a month's time."

In the lineup, Seshen and Toshida have been placed next to one another in the lineup and neither of them are happy about it. Toshida is the first to make a remark as he whispers to Seshen. "Didn't your daddy send you off to school with a pair of mittens? How could he let his precious adopted son sculpt the cold, cold, ice with his bare hands? Well maybe he did give them to you . . . well if I find one of them I just have to follow the string through your sleeves to find the other one I suppose." Toshida says sarcastically as he laughs at his own insult.

An unhappy and unamused Seshen, sticks out his left hand toward Toshida and raises his middle finger to his classmate. "Why don't you find this? You walking diaper stain!" Seshen retorts out loud getting a response from the sensei.

"Hey! Both of you, knock it off and pay attention or you will both be shoveling Raikage-sama's front pathway for the rest of the month!" The sensei scolds.

"Sorry Sensei." The two students respond in unison.

"All right then. Let us begin. You all have 30 seconds . . . starting . . . NOW!" The Sensei shouts as all the students begin the same hand seal sequence. _Horse, Snake, Rooster, dog, boar, monkey, tiger._

"_**Hyouton: Toukan Choukou no jutsu **(Ice Element: Cold sculptor Technique_) The students say in unison as their hands glow with chakra as they begin to form the sculpture they have been order to create. The students have to gather up enough water molecules in the air with their chakra, freeze an efficient amount of it in order to create the sculpture and then begin to chip away what is not needed, and smooth out the surfaces and create the proper finished product.

One of the other Sensei's turns to the Sensei leading the exercise and whispers into his ear, "Thirty seconds is a very short time, don't you think? All the other tests have been more then a minute at least, and half the students still fail it."

"It was a special request from Raikage-sama. He knew that his son was taking the test today and he wanted to see if his son would be up to the challenge of performing the jutsu in such a short time. I would not be surprised if not one passed this test." The jounin then looks to the clock above him and he notices that the thirty seconds have passed. "All right, time's up stop what you're doing."

As the two Sensei's begin to walk down the line to inspect the final products that have been created, they notice that almost half of the line are breathing heavily due to exhaustion as they are not used to having to harness such a large amount of chakra in such a short time and to mold it so quickly. Two thirds of the students were unable to create the visage of the Raikage but still managed to freeze the molecules together, while the remainder made very lackluster and makeshift versions of the test. That is until the two Sensei reach Toshida and Seshen near the end of the lineup. The first Sensei inspects Seshen's sculpture which has been created perfectly, with no chips, no rough edges and a size double that of what was required.

"Well then, that is certainly impressive." One of the Sensei's says out loud. "Seshen Raiken . . . Pass." He says as the other Sensei marks down Seshen's mark.

"Ok then lets see what you have here Toshida . . ." The Sensei quickly examines Toshida's sculpture which is only about an inch smaller then Seshen's creation. The Sensei then begins to chuckle slightly as he notices something about the sculpture. He does not look at anyone else other than into Toshida's chuckling and smiling face. "Toshida . . . Pass." He says to his counterpart who is also holding back laughter.

"_What the hell are they laughing at?" _Seshen says to himself. He quickly peeks over at Toshida's sculpture and see's a perfect replica of the Raikage's figure. Seshen soon becomes intensely angered and he can see what the Jounin's were laughing at. "Dammit you son of a bitch!" Seshen yells as his face turns red with anger as he scolds Toshida.

Toshida just simply laughs at Seshen's anger at the text, "I'm With Stupid" that he had sculpted into the front of the Raikage's cloak with an arrow pointed toward Seshen.

Toshida leans over after Seshen has begun to calm down and he whispers into Seshen's ear. "Next time . . . don't piss me off . . . and then I won't have to embarrass you!" Toshida smiles and then quickly runs away as Seshen gives pursuit, and the two find themselves chasing one another throughout the lecture hall.

_**When I would finish a day at the academy, I would go home to the five finger mountain range in secret, and meet with my father for additional training. This would go on for a number of years, living in secret and living a double life until I was eight years old. At that time, the academy selection exam was soon upon us.**_

_**The way that the exam was run was a little bit different than the way it is in the leaf village. All the academy students are being tested all year, and the minimum requirement to take the exam is being eight years old and having completed all the tests throughout the year with flying colors. If you are of age and have substantial marks, you still may not be allowed to take the exam. You require a personal recommendation from one of the academy's Sensei's. The exams are held twice a month and only one genin can graduate at a time. The exam is usually simple and is over seen by a group of Sensei's from the academy as well as some of the Raikage's personal attendants, and on occasion the Raikage himself would over see the exam. All in all there are roughly five members on the judging council, and all must reach a consensus as to whether or not the genin will pass or fail. **_

_**The exam is usually a one on one fight between the top two recommended genin's at the time. If any of the board members had family taking place in the exam, they would be removed from the board and replaced with an impartial party. The exam was always held in private and away from the public eye. Usually because many of the genin taking part in the exam know that they may not come out of the test alive. And it does not make for good public relations to see children killing one another to move up in the ranks. It may limit the number of genin's promoted every year, but the genin's we produced were always the best in the five countries.**_

_**I was recommended by my Sensei to take part in the exam that month and I went to my father to discuss a plan for the upcoming fight. We met around a fire deep in the cave system in the mountain range . . . **_

Toshida sits across from his father in front of a large fire in the depths of the cave system. Kunashiro is eating the last morsels of meat from a large shank, while Toshida finishes the last of the rice in his bowl and washes it down with some of the fresh water flowing through the streams in the mountains. Toshida looks up from his bowl after finishing and addresses his concerns to his father.

"Father, I have been chosen to take part in the graduation exam this month."

"Excellent Toshida. It is imperative that you pass this exam and move on to become a genin. Only then will it become easier for you to get close enough to the Raikage to strike him down."

"But father, how am I supposed to kill the Raikage if he is the strongest in the village? I may be stronger then most of the other academy students, but he is still the strongest in the Thunder country."

"What do you mean, MOST of the other academy students?"

"Well father, one of my classmates . . . Seshen Raiken . . . he is the adopted son of the Raikage and his power is considerable."

"The Raikage's son? And he is a match for you? Are you sure?"

"Yes father. We are always at the top of the class in all of our tests and studies and we are constantly competing for the top spot."

"And even though you hide your true ability, you still think he is your equal?"

"Yes father. I am not sure how I know . . . I have sensed his power and it is almost equal to mine.

"I see." Kunashiro takes a second to quickly take in all that his son has explained to him. _"The dragon must have increased his awareness. If this boy that he speaks of is strong enough to compete with Toshida at this age, then this boy may become a problem. If Toshida learns to tap into the power that the dragon provides, he will most certainly be unstoppable. But I cannot tell Toshida about the beast, for I fear that it may frighten even him. And if he becomes scared . . . then he is of no use to me. I need Toshida's strength to impress the Raikage enough for him to get close enough to strike him down . . . he will never suspect a child to challenge him, let alone try to assassinate him." _

"Me and Seshen just do not get along and he infuriates me to no end. He also tries to be a show off, but only when it is at my expense. Any other time he is just as polite and determined as any of the other students. But he just doesn't seem to like me at all . . . but that's fine cause I don't like him either . . . I just wish I could kill that stupid kid and be done with him." Toshida grumbles as he kicks a stone into the nearby fire.

Kunashiro then begins to think back to when Toshida first demonstrated the dragon's power back in the cave, when Toshida readying himself to fight his father after he struck Yuna. _"That may be the key . . . Toshida's emotions seem to inadvertently tap into the beast's power . . . if he hates this boy enough and is confronted by him . . . he may snap and let loose the fury that has been his birthright." _Kunashiro thinks to himself. "Well Toshida . . . Either way this child sounds like he could become most troublesome if left to advance on his own. I can think of no better punishment for the Raikage then for you to kill his only son. So after this exam graduation is over . . . you and I will discuss Seshen's assassination."

"Um . . . Ok . . . father." Toshida says as he lowers his head and contemplates what his father has just said.

"Is there a problem Toshida?" Kunashiro asks in a stern tone, as he stares a hole through Toshida.

"N-no father . . . I will do as you ask." Toshida regretfully replies.

_**I dare not say it to my father, for fear that he may see it as a weakness . . . but Seshen . . . even though he was a pain in my ass and was constantly trying to humiliate me . . . was the closest thing I had to a friend at that time. We disliked, even hated one another . . . but it was something we had in common.**_

_(Music: "Tea Country" from the Naruto OST III)_

_**The next day when I set off to the cloud village, I could not shake a bad feeling I felt in my stomach as I walked toward the examination center just down the street from the Raikage's palace. I didn't like the idea of planning to kill Seshen . . . but at that time I would never dare to contradict my father's orders. So I went about the rest of my journey to the village without giving it a second thought.**_

_**I arrived in the examination center around nine in the morning and was directed to the fighting hall. When I entered the hall, it was dark and damp, with only two lights to illuminate** **the fighting floor, and another light that illuminate a long table that the five judges sat at. The said nothing to me as I walked in, so I simply moved to the center of the arena and looked up to them as I awaited further instructions . . . **_

"_This is awkward. It is like they are not even paying attention to me." _Toshida looks up to the balcony where the judges are seated, and can see all of the judges writing notes down on their clipboards as they do not even make eye contact with Toshida.

After fifteen minutes of awkward silence, one of the examiners addresses Toshida. "Toshida, you may begin your preparation for your match. Your opponent will be here shortly."

Toshida nods in approval and begins stretching for the upcoming fight. He tightens his sandals, and checks his weapon inventory. After confirming his number of kunai and shuriken, he begins tying his long black hair in a single braid that goes down to just past his shoulders. As he begins to adjust his shuriken pouch on his left leg, he is startled by the sound of the door opening on the opposite side of the arena.

_(Music: "Bunta" from the Naruto OST III)_

The door opens, and a shadow is cast upon the floor leading to Toshida, the bright light behind the dark figure shines bright in Toshida's eyes and he quickly raises his hand to cover his face. As the figure walks closer, he closes the door behind him and walks into the light of the two over hanging lamps that brighten up the fighting floor. To Toshida, the figure's steps are calculated and deafening. For the first time in his life, Toshida is nervous and the feelings in his knees begin to fade. The figure steps into the light and Toshida quickly examines the silhouette. He can make out the dark sandals and shinobi pants worn by any other cloud shinobi male, and a black sleeveless shirt that matches Toshida's. He wears black tape around each wrist and his shuriken pouch on his right leg, with the family crest of the Raikage embroidered across it. As Toshida finally see's his opponent's entire figure, he can see the well built physique, piercing brown eyes and light-green spikey hair of Seshen Raiken standing before him.

"Well then . . . isn't this convenient?" A confident smirk brandishes across the face of the Raikage's personal pupil and adopted son, as he realizes that the score between the two may finally be settled.

Toshida, who at first was apprehensive of Seshen's entrance, now brandishes an optimistic and almost playful smile on his face as he too wants the better man to be decided in this altercation. "I suppose that you and I will finally know who is better, won't we Seshen?"

Both competitors stand only a few feet away from one another and exchange confident demeanor's as they await the order to fight. The examiners all soon rise from the table as the door of the balcony opens and two figures walk in. One of the figures is dressed in a long white robe and matching hat over top of a standard cloud village jounin's outfit. The second figure just wears a jounin's outfit and bandana marked with the cloud village's symbol on a metal head protector sewn into the bandana. His outfit consists of the standard black shinobi's pants and long sleeve shift with a dark navy blue vest and thick shoulder pads for added protection and warmth in the cold thunder country climate. This jounin however has somewhat of a black cape that hangs from the back of his shoulders and down to just past his knees.

When the two figures step into the light, the examiners all bow, as they show respect for the Raikage himself, and his personal aid, bodyguard, and right hand, the jounin Shin.

"Raikage-sama, we were not expecting you to oversee this examination. You honor us with your presence." One of the examiners says.

"You may dispense with the pleasantry's examiner, I am just here to watch the exam, you are not being evaluated. I just wanted Shin to see my son in action. I myself am also interested to see just how far my son is progressing, and I am here to support him as much as I can." The Raikage smiles as he looks down to the young shinobi ready to fight for their right of passage.

Toshida looks up with an angry scowl on his face as the two men he has been programmed almost from birth to hate have just entered the room with the intention of scouting his every move. _"Get a good look you son of a bitch. Cause my face will eventually be the last thing you see on this earth."_

On the balcony Shin looks down to Toshida with a curious glare of optimism. "Raikage-sama, is that the boy we have been hearing about?"

"Yes Shin, that is the strange Toshida child. Apparently he is an orphan from the northern provinces. He has also been giving my son quite the run in the race for top of the class. This child may prove to be a great asset to our military as soon as he comes of age. God knows we can use all the help we can get. This war with the leaf is taking its toll. But why do you ask Shin?"

"Just this boy . . . he looks rather familiar. I know I have never seen him before . . . but perhaps I knew his parents?"

"Not likely. They were farmers in the northern provinces, and I doubt that you have known anyone up that way."

"Yea I guess you're right Raikage-sama. But still . . . his face just looks familiar. How has the war effort been going anyway sir?"

"Not good. We captured a series of hills just six miles south of Tarawa creek three days ago, but we have been unable to keep them in our control. These leafs just don't like to give up easily. We haven't captured any new territory in more then three weeks that we have been able to hold on to. We make an attack, and they counter, they make an attack and we counter. It is a stalemate right now and it looks like this war may never end."

"Don't say that Raikage-sama. The cloud village has never lost a war in more than a hundred years. This war may have lasted almost ten years already, but the leaf's will never defeat us. Unless the plan to melt snow for drinking water, and eat stale bread for the next fifty years. We will defeat them . . . and soon."

The examiners soon turn to Seshen and Toshida and begin giving out the instructions and rules for the examination. "All right you two, the examination is simple. You will have no time limit to this fight and only one winner can be declared. A winner is declared when either we stop the match based on our discretion, or one fighter clearly cannot continue. That means, you have no chakra left, you are injured and cannot compete, you lose consciousness, you give up . . . or one of you dies. There is no need to kill your opponent and we are quick to shun such a practice, but keep in mind that you may not be recommended for this examination for quite sometime, and this may be your only chance. So give it all you got and let's have a clean fight."

The two fighters distance themselves roughly ten meters apart and ready their fighting stances. Seshen takes a standard taijutsu stance common to many shinobi of the cloud village, while Toshida takes the stance of his fathers fighting style. With his left arm extended and direct at Seshen, with his ring finger and thumb touching one another and the other three fingers pointing outward and his right hand cocked in the formation of a half clam running parallel along his hip. He marks Seshen's right arm with his pinky finger, and right leg with his index finger and then marks his line of sight with the middle finger.

"What in the hell kind of fighting style is that?" Shin asks the Raikage.

"Hmmm, it's called the Open fist. I have only seen it a few times amongst some Taijutsu masters. It uses the fingers on his left hand to mark the strong points of the opponent's stance, and he then uses it to create a pattern of defense and to plan a counterstrike. The fingers mark reference points on the fighter's body, attacking arm, the leg they use to push off with, and their line of sight, and depending on the height of the opponent, their fighting style, their weight, age, gender, and the way they carry themselves, the open fist user then triangulates the reference points and creates a triangular profile on the opponent. They then use simple mathematics and geometry to figure out what kind of fighter they are dealing with, and they select an attack pattern from hundreds of patterns they have learned throughout their training (which from what I gather is intense and extremely difficult) to predict and process the path of the fight."

"So basically he has already predicted Seshen-sama's first move?"

"Likely not just his first move, but his fourth and fifth move as well. It is an extremely difficult taijutsu style to understand and learn and even harder to master and use correctly. It is designed for quick encounters and quick kills. If the open fist user can predict the first couple of moves the opponent is going to make, they can quickly counter the attacks until they create an opening for a critical strike. It allows them to finish fights quickly and effortlessly. Since they are never the aggressors in the fight, but are quick to dispatch their enemies and make quick kills, the style was nicknamed "The Open Fist"

"Interesting" Shin replies as he looks down on the young shinobi. "It would appear that our orphan has had quite a bit of training in taijutsu while on a farm, wouldn't you say?"

"Begin!" The examiner shouts from atop the balcony, signifying the beginning of this month's academy graduation exam.

_(Music: "Avenger" from the Naruto OST III)_

Seshen is the first to strike as he pushes off with his right leg and runs toward Toshida with his right arm balled up in a fist ready to strike. As he gets close enough to strike the calm and calculated Toshida, who has had his eyes closed since the beginning of the match he lunges forward with his right fist and is shocked as Toshida's right hand effortless catches his punch and stops it in its tracks. Seshen quickly recovers and tries to strike Toshida with a sweeping kick aimed at Toshida's left knee, but Toshida is quick to use his left foot block Seshen's strike, and slam Seshen's foot to the ground, leaving the two of them in an awkward and compromising position

Toshida then open's his eyes and makes eye contact with the shocked and confused Seshen. "This fight will be over quickly . . . Seshen-senpai."

Toshida then uses the strength in his right hand to push Seshen's hand back further and further as Seshen desperately tries to push forward. Suddenly the slow and deliberate exchange is interrupted as out of nowhere, Seshen kicks off with his left leg and cartwheel's without the use of his hands, loosening and releasing Toshida's grip on his fist, just as Seshen strikes Toshida in the side of the head with his freed right foot.

"You're right Toshida . . . it will be over quick."

After shaking off the kick, Toshida's temper begins to flare, and he lunges at Seshen with an open left hand. Seshen begins to evade, but falls into the trap as he moves to his right, and walks right into a sweep kick from Toshida, knocking him off balance. Seshen quickly recovers, pivoting off his left hand and springing forward head over heels and regains his vertical base, just barely dodging a diving backhand strike from Toshida. Toshida lands on his upper back and shoulders, and using his momentum, swings his legs and knees parallel to his face, and using his flexibility and strength, kicks back up to his feet in time to see Seshen diving in with a spin kick, that connects with the right side of Toshida's face sending him tumbling backward.

Seshen follows up with a headstrong charge toward the downed shinobi. Toshida gets back up to his feet and readies to counter Seshen's attack. Seshen dives in with a straight right hook, but misses Toshida's face as he steps back just enough to avoid contact. Seshen then finds himself on the receiving end of a thunderous upper cut to the gut that sends him back and startling him enough for Toshida to follow up with a series of punches to the face, followed by two rising knee strikes to the gut, and finished with front kick that clips Seshen just under the chin.

Seshen is set through the air but manages to land on his feet in time to block another punch from the attacking Toshida by crossing his arms in front of him. The force of the punch moves Seshen back several feet and the screw up Seshen's center of gravity, causing him to lean forward just enough for Toshida to land another thunderous strike, a crescent kick to Seshen's chest that knocks him to the ground hard. Toshida then leaps into the air and comes swiping down fast with an open hand ready to strike the prone Seshen. Quickly reacting, Seshen pulls himself back into a kick up position and using all the strength in his shoulders and the additional strength of his hands, kicks up straight into the air and manages to strike the attacking Toshida with a double footed kick straight to Toshida's forehead.

The blow sends Toshida back and he lands flat on his back hard on the floor while Seshen lands on the ground, and rolls through with a somersault before rising to his feet and readying himself for the next attack.

"Both of these kids are something eh?" One of the examiners asks of another.

"Man you aren't kidding. They are faster then most chuunin, and their strikes are almost superhumanly strong!"

Seshen blocks another strike from Toshida. This time a left back thrust kick and a follow up spin kick from the heel Toshida's right leg makes its way toward Seshen's temple. Seshen ducks under the kick and Toshida crosses his arms and carries his momentum all the way through for another spin and before he hits the ground, manages to sweep out Seshen's legs from underneath him. Toshida then kicks up to his feet and does a jumping somersault in the air, and comes down hard on Seshen with a heel drop to Seshen's chest.

In a puff of smoke, Seshen disappears and only a few blocks of ice remain in his place. _"Shit! Its Kawarimi (replacement)" _Toshida says to himself, just before a strong punch connects with the back of his head sending him forward and tumbling to the ground. As Toshida rolls through, he reaches into his shuriken pouch with his left hand and pulls out three shuriken that glisten with the sparkling but faint tinges of kurot wire, and he quickly twists his body around as he skids along the ground and sweeps his arm across his chest, throwing the shuriken at Seshen. Seshen ducks and weaves his way around the shuriken but does not notice the thin and almost invisible wire tied to the shuriken. As he races toward Toshida, Toshida smirks as he yanks back on the wire with his right hand and quickly snaps the shuriken back in the opposite direction like a yo-yo as they then hurtled back toward the charging Seshen.

One of the shuriken pierces the back of Seshen's left knee, while the other two pierce his back, sending him to the ground hard as he grunts and growls in pain. He quickly removes the shuriken with his hands, but the damage has been done, as the tendons in the back of his knee have been pierced and severely damaged. He gets back up to a vertical base and tries to fight off the pain as he readies for Toshida's next attack. However, the pain becomes too much too bare and Seshen's leg gives out and he drops to his knees.

On the balcony, the examiners gossip amongst one another as to whether or not they should end the fight where it stands due to Seshen's injury. Seshen looks up to the balcony and makes eye contact with the Raikage whose eyes show concern for his son's safety. Seshen mouths to the Raikage to not stop the match and he shakes his head firmly. The Raikage, torn between his son's wishes and his safety, does not know what to do.

"All right, we have to stop the match, I don't think he can stand." One of the examiners says as he rises from his chair, only to be pushed back down into his seat by the Raikage's firm right hand.

"Let them fight just a little while longer. If Seshen cannot mount a suitable offense, then you can stop the fight. But, please . . . let him try."

_(Music: "Be Strong and Strike" from the Naruto OST)_

Seshen can see the examiner nod in acceptance at the Raikage's request, and the young shinobi is soon filled a new desire to win. He turns his attention to the charging Toshida who has drawn kunai in both hands. As Toshida gets close enough to make a strike with the daggers, Seshen, using his good leg, leaps up to a vertical base and then quickly leaps again into the air and spins his almost limp left leg and clothesline's Toshida with a spinning leg lariat knocking him to the ground. As Toshida sits up and turns around to face Seshen, he cannot react fast enough to dodge the next attack, as Seshen spins along the ground and uses the top of his right foot to connect with Toshida's face with such force that it fractures Toshida's left zygomatic bone (cheek bone at the bottom of the eye socket) in two places.

Toshida skids along the ground clutching at his face as he screams in pain. He removes his hands from his face and reveals a crescent shape gash along the side of his face. He finds himself slightly disorientated as he tries to rise to his feet and it takes him a number of attempts before he can actually stand up. With blood rushing from his face, Toshida stares down at the now vertical Seshen who has taken both of Toshida's kunai and has readied them for an attack. Toshida then begins to notice that the vision in his left eye has begun to blur due to the fracture and he quickly tries to hide the weakness by turning his posture slightly to the left, utilizing his good eye to its maximum.

"_What is this? He is favoring that wound_ _and has all of his chakra focusing away from his left side. But how do I know that?" _Seshen begins to see an odd blue tinge forming on the left side of Toshida's face, while the right side of his body begins to show more of a red tinge. Seshen shakes his head for a minute in an effort to try and reset his vision. When he opens his eyes again, he can see his vision has returned to normal.

Toshida tries not to nurse his injury too much or make it noticeable and he quickly charges toward Seshen with a new found anger and desperation. Seshen blocks the first strike . . . and then the second as he almost appears to know how Toshida is planning on attacking. Seshen quickly strikes Toshida with an uppercut that connects just under his chin with thunderous force, and the drawn kunai in his hand slices just under Toshida's jaw in the process sending Toshida to the ground yet again.

"_Dammit, this is not good. He know's that I'm injured and he wants to focus on that. I can't win this fight is he keeps after my injury . . . think Toshida think!" _Toshida looks around the room to try and locate any possibility of him gaining the advantage over Seshen, and to his dismay, he cannot find anything that may help him.

His search is soon cut short as his attention is drawn to the kunai that has been tossed to him. He catches the knife in his right hand and looks at Seshen with a confused glare from his right eye as his left eye has now swollen itself shut. "What the hell is this?" Toshida asks.

"You're blind in your left eye, and my left leg is lame. I want this fight to be finished fairly, so that a definitive winner can be decided. Now Toshida . . . come. Let us finish this." Seshen then readies his kunai and takes his fighting stance, only with his left leg not touching the ground and letting all his weight lie on his right leg.

Toshida is the first to strike as he lunges at Seshen with his kunai drawn, stabbing at Seshen's abdomen only to have his strike parried by the defending shinobi. Seshen follows up the attack by driving a heavy karate style chop to the back of Toshida's neck, sending the young man to the ground hard and smacking his injured face off the hard concrete floor. Toshida is quick to recover and gets to his feet almost immediately, hiding the intense pain he feels from his injury.

"_Dammit this isn't good. I am not used to fighting with only one good eye . . . I have never been injured before . . . I don't know what to do." _Toshida once again tries to figure out some possible way for him to get even a slight advantage against the intense offense of Seshen. _"Dammit Toshida . . . Think . . . THINK!" _Toshida then glances to the upper balcony where he notices the fuse box located on the left side of the entrance to the balcony. As he examines the power cables leading from the box, he see's that the cables link up to all three lights in the dimly lit room. _"That's it!" _Toshida tosses his kunai in the air briefly for a quick rotation and then catches it in his right hand just before throwing the kunai as hard as he can toward the power box. The kunai pierces the outer casing of the power box and after a few sparks and spurts of electricity, all the lights go out in the room.

"What the hell is this?" Shin asks aloud.

"He hit the fuse box! Shin, find someone that can fix it quickly. We need to be able to see the fight if we are going to declare a victor." The Raikage orders, sending Shin running from the room to find someone to fix the fuse box.

Meanwhile in the arena, Seshen tries to maintain composure even though he has been blinded by the darkness Toshida has brought upon their encounter. _"Dammit . . . what the hell is he trying to do? I can't see a thing . . . but then again . . . Neither can he._" Suddenly the rationale of Toshida's actions becomes apparent to Seshen. _"Shit. His vision is impaired and he just made the playing field even by blinding both of us."_

Suddenly Seshen's inner monologue is interrupted as he feels a heavy blow strike him in between his shoulder blades, sending him staggering forward as he quickly turns around and blindly swipes his kunai at the almost infinite blackness in front of him. He soon feels a fiery sting of intense pain from his left knee as he feels something small pushed deep into his open wound. Seshen screams out loud in pain as whatever was forced into his injury has begun to dissolve and burn the inside of his wound.

"You scream like a girl, Seshen-senpai." The voice of Toshida calmly echoes from the darkness. "That small tablet is a concentration of chalk powder and salt, usually used to blind an opponent . . . but considering we are both blind, I figured the feeling of salt in your wound would make things a bit easier for me."

Seshen's eyes fill with tears as he tries to simply forget about the burning sensation in his knee that has begun to spread through his entire leg as the salt travels through his blood stream. "I don't care if I can't see . . ." Seshen grunts in a deep pain filled and guttural voice. Suddenly another quick blow comes from the darkness, striking Seshen across the face just before a second strike hits him in the ribs. Seshen finds himself defenseless for several moments as blow after blow impact on his flesh sending tremors through his whole body as he tries to defend himself, and swings wildly, hitting nothing but air. "I won't lose to you!"

In the darkness, Toshida plans out his next strike as he stalks his opponent, circling Seshen with footsteps to quiet for the injured shinobi to hear. _"Hmpf, one of the advantages to being raised in a cave for years Seshen . . . it's always dark. My other senses are just as strong as my eyesight if not stronger. I can tell exactly where you are by listening to your breaths, and smelling your sweat. Also . . . I can feel your chakra in the air . . . you have too much for your own good, and have no restraint when using it . . . You might as well just be telling me where you are."_

Toshida lunges out from the shadows toward Seshen with his fist ready to strike, and suddenly finds himself on the receiving end of a backhand strike from the defending Seshen, sending him flying backward and into the wall. Toshida sits up holding his broken face and tries to figure out how he could have been countered. _"What in the hell? How could he have seen me? That wasn't just a lucky shot, he hit me right in the face . . . right on the same side." _Toshida holds back the pain from his injured face and tries to figure out how Seshen could have seen him.

"_What the hell is going on?" _Seshen asks himself. A look through Seshen's eyes shows a slight silhouette of his own hands outlined in red. On the back of his left hand he can see Toshida's blood smeared across his knuckles and drops of blood along the floor, all of which seem to be resonating with a faint red glow, getting dimmer and dimmer before they fade to a dark blue. _"This is getting weird . . . what's wrong with my eyes? Why is this happening to me?" _As Seshen begins to look around the room, he can make out six figures above him. Five of them sitting down and one of them standing. _"Wait a minute . . . that's the balcony where my father and the examiners are. But how can I see them? And why are they all red?" _Seshen's attention is soon drawn downward as he can make out another red figure silently running toward him with their fist pulled back, ready to strike.

Seshen extends his hand and catches the figure's fist just as it comes within inches of his face. Seshen then follows through and strikes the figure with a swift kick to the ribs sending him back. As the figure hits the wall of the fighting arena, the lighting is restored and he can see Toshida sliding down the wall, nearly unconscious.

As the examiners look down to the arena to locate the two combatants, they can see Toshida against the wall underneath them, trying to maintain consciousness as he struggles to get to his feet. They look over to see Seshen standing in the middle of the fighting area with his head lowered, staring at his hands with a look of confusing in his face. As he looks up to the examiners area his face becomes determined as his vision begins to clear and everything he has seen begins to make sense.

"What the hell is that?" One of the examiners says, as he finds himself drawn to surveying the eyes of the young shinobi looking up at the examination balcony.

What the examiner's all see, is nothing short of amazing to them, as Seshen looks up at them with his eyes displaying a bright neon green iris with a purple triangular shaped pupil with three black linear pupils lying off to the sides of the triangular shaped pupil. The glare from Seshen's new eyes is frightening to some of examiners . . . but to the Raikage, it is a joyous occasion as he is the only one who has realized what it is that they are looking at.

"That my friend . . . is a Kekkai Genkai." (Bloodline Limit)


	10. Face to Face

**_Toshida Gaiden Chapter 10:_** **_Face to Face_**

"An advanced Bloodline?" One of the examiners asks as he looks down upon the newly revealed eyes of the Raikage's adopted son. "But . . . I didn't know Seshen-kun had a bloodline limit?"

"Neither did I." Answers the Raikage. "But look at those eyes, they are similar to the watch dog ninja's we tried producing a few years ago. Their surgically augmented eyes were based on the original's that were found and researched years ago."

"Watch dog nins Raikage-sama? I don't understand."

"Years ago, before you or I was even born, there were rumors about a clan that lived outside of the cloud village that possessed the ability to harness the weather of the thunder country. They were nomads and recluses that did whatever they could to remain hidden from public view. They wanted nothing to do with the cloud village, and maintained their way of life living off the land of the thunder country. Everyone now and again, it was said that a younger and more curious member of the clan would visit the cloud village to see what civilization was like. They still did what they could to remain hidden while visiting, but there were always sightings of the mysterious people. One day, an injured member of the clan stumbled into the village, and even though he did very well to hide himself, he was accidently attacked by some of the village guards and was seriously wounded in the encounter. Our medics did what they could to save the young mans life, but he died soon after being committed. Our medics then studied the mysterious young mans, and began to learn about the unique bloodline for years based off his remains and the eye witness reports from the attacking guards. Eventually our scientists and medical ninja's were able to develop a jutsu to implant artificial and simulated versions of the eyes that they recovered."

"What is the bloodline called Raikage-sama? What can it do?"

"After researching the effects of the new bloodline in the host bodies, we determined that the bloodline allowed the user to see energy sources, even in the most minute or small amounts. Whether it be from heat sources, electrical energy from the weather, chakra, the bloodline can see them all, even at a distance. It also gives the user great night vision, so we started to use the test subjects as the leaders of our border patrols. The look of the eyes lead our medics to nickname the bloodline limit, The Raigan (lightning eye). But those were only the imitation versions . . . Seshen must have been a member of that nomadic clan. Seshen should possess all the abilities that our test subjects had . . . but this version hasn't been diluted by transference . . . Seshen possesses the original body that the eyes were made for. It should be rather interesting to see just what this bloodline can do."

The Raikage takes a moment to reflect on the events unfolding before him . . . and those that have since passed. _"Seshen, when I found you all those years ago I saw but a helpless boy that was nothing but trash to those who destroyed your home. I thought you were lucky to have been found by me when you were. An orphaned child found and adopted by the strongest shinobi in the country. However it seems that I was the lucky one. I found a true gem that day. Your blood of lightning, is the inheritance of this land and in time . . . this land will be your inheritance."_

Toshida wastes no time trying to figure out Seshen's new ability and immediately charges the young cloud nin, thrusting forward with a diving thrust kick. Seshen catches Toshida's foot with his left hand and uses' Toshida's momentum against him, flipping him over and sending him tumbling toward the wall. Toshida lands feet first on the wall and springs off quickly, throwing a spinning heal kick toward the back of Seshen's head. Seshen ducks as the kick comes inches away from striking him in the back of the head. As Toshida lands feet first on the hard floor, he quickly pivots to follow up with his assault and turns just in time to see Seshen drive a thunderous left hook into his already damaged face. Seshen follows up with two knee strikes in succession to Toshida's ribs and finishes off the series of attacks with a double handed strike to Toshida's abdomen. As his palms make contact with Toshida's stomach, Seshen twists his hands inward and channels a strong amount of chakra through his arms and into his hands forcing it into Toshida's body and hitting him with the force of a sledgehammer. Toshida flies across the room and slams hard into the wall. Cracking its concrete foundation, as well as breaking two of Toshida's ribs and rupturing his spleen.

Seshen rises up from his crouched position after delivering the devastating blow, and cannot help but be almost mesmerized by his new found power. Seshen raises his hands in front of him and is awestruck by the sight before him, his hands shimmer with a radiant red glow, and he can vaguely see the chakra flowing inside his hands. _"This . . . power . . . it's incredible. I can even see my own chakra flowing through me. I have never felt . . . anything so powerful!" _Seshen then suddenly feels a grumbling pain in his stomach that he finds almost paralyzing. _"What the . . . my stomach . . . what is happening? I have a feeling that this is going to get worse before it gets better. I have to finish this fight."_

Toshida tries to regain his vertical base after taking a nasty spill into the barrier wall, but finds it more and more difficult with every breath he takes as his broken ribs have hindered his ability to perform the slightest inhalation. _"Damn it . . . I can't . . . breathe._" Toshida staggers to his feet and looks up from his injuries to see Seshen only a few meters away with a kick lined up and aimed to the left side of his rib cage. As Toshida reaches out to grab Seshen's incoming strike, he becomes oblivious to Seshen's secondary attack and takes a clubbing left-handed smash to the side of his face, busting Toshida's cheek open and spilling more of Toshida's blood on the floor. The strike sends a shock of intense weakness through Toshida's body as consciousness begins to slip from his increasing limp body.

"Give Up Toshida." Seshen states as he stands over, stalking his prey. "I don't want to have to kill you. But I will if you force my hand."

"I . . . will not . . . lose . . . to you . . ." Toshida manages to mutter as he tries pushing himself up off the ground with his hands.

Seshen looks up to his father on the balcony with his newly awakened eyes and looks for some kind of direction in what to do. _"I don't . . . I don't want to kill him father." _Seshen thinks to himself. _"Why doesn't he just give up?"_

Up on the balcony, the Raikage looks onto his confused and powerful son. _"You will win this Seshen . . . if this boy must die for you to realize your own greatness . . . then so be it."_

Seshen turns his attention back to Toshida and unceremoniously drives a straightforward kick into Toshida's ribs as he tries to get to his feet. When Seshen tries it a second time, Toshida puts his palms in the way of Seshen's foot, and pushes off as Seshen's acceleration reaches its apex and the force created sends Toshida just high enough into the air for him to turn and pivot while almost floating, and strike Seshen hard with a straight closed fist to Seshen's groin. As Seshen drops to his knees, his only words that are spoken are curses and grumbles as the shot to his crouch has humbled the cloud shinobi's onslaught. Toshida is quick to take the advantage and focuses a large amount of chakra to his leg, leaps into the air and strikes Seshen with a thunderous roundhouse kick.

"_**Zaigou Senpuu!" **(Sinful whirlwind)_ Toshida's kick sends Seshen tumbling across the concrete floor and Toshida is quick to follow up by leaping into the air and landing on Seshen's back with both feet. He grabs the hair of the prone Seshen and strikes him several times in the back of the head before letting go and striking Seshen with an identical kick to the ribs sending Seshen skidding along the floor.

As Toshida then takes a breather from his attack to see if Seshen will continue their fight, he cannot help but notice a strange feeling that is sweeping over most of his body. _"What . . . is this feeling? My face . . . is . . . is tingling." _Toshida touches the slice wound just under his chin from Seshen's kunai slash and the feeling on his fingers is almost too much for him to believe. _"What the? That's impossible! The scar . . . is healing. I can feel my skin closing the gap between over the wound. This . . . this is madness." _As Toshida can feel the same tingling feeling on the newly formed gash along the right side of his face, he checks the wound like the one before and notices the same sensation as the gash begins to close right before Toshida's eyes. He notices the swelling on the left side of his face has begun to go down, but he can still feel the intense pain from his fractured cheekbone. _"How am I healing this fast? My broken bones aren't healing so fast, but the flesh wounds have healed almost instantly. What in the hell is going on here?"_

While still laying on the floor, Seshen once again looks up to his father who now brandishes and amused smile at the sight of Toshida's relentless attack. "It looks like the next generation of shinobi for our country will be the strongest generation yet. Don't you agree?" Seshen can vaguely hear the Raikage's question to the examiners who all are in agreement, and the thought of his fathers praise going to someone else, fills Seshen with an intense hatred toward his rival, and without saying a word, vows to finish Toshida.

Seshen rises to his feet and the look of anger on his face frightens even the hardened Toshida. Seshen's eyes begin to glisten with a surging shock of electricity as the lightning eye begins to live up to its name sake. "That's it Toshida! This fight between you and I ends now, I will not allow you to be the one my father favors. Now, YOU DIE!" Seshen slams his hands together in the seal of the snake, followed up by a quick series of hand seals. _Rat, Boar, Tiger, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Hare._

The Raikage looks on in amazement at the sequence that his son has just produced. _"Those seals . . . how could Seshen know that technique? I never taught him that technique and he surely did not learn it at the academy . . ." _The Raikage then makes a deduction that would reveal one of the advantages of having the Raigan eye. _"It must be a technique of his clan. It must simply be running inherent in his blood. No one has ever been credited with the technique's creation, so it is more then possible."_

"_**Raiton: Rairyuudan no jutsu! **(Lightning Element: Lightning Dragon blast technique) _

The air around Seshen begins to crackle with static charges, as all the electrons in the area begin to culminate just behind the focused shinobi and begin to take the shape of a small dragon as Seshen pours all of his chakra into the hit or miss technique. If he can hit Toshida with the move, the match is over . . . if the technique misses, Seshen will not have enough chakra to mount a comeback.

As the dragon begins to form before his eyes, Toshida finds himself unable to move as the figure strikes fear into the young boy's heart. Although he knows not why, the form of the dragon taking shape acts like a powder keg in Toshida's mind, triggering hundreds of images and memories that he has never seen and could not possibly experience. Visions of the body that once belonged to the dragon spirit residing inside of him send chills up his spine, and cause him to turn as white as snow. Seshen however, does not think twice about continuing his assault and sends his newly formed lightning dragon toward the paralyzed Toshida. The blast hits Toshida head on as he is only able to stare the horrifying image head on as millions of small charges surge throughout the young boy's body, causing all of his muscles to contract over and over again confusing all the impulses in his body and imitating the feeling of a thousand muscle cramps and shocks all over his frame.

"GGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" The young boy screams as even the hairs on his arm have begun to singe at the tips, and his skin feels ready to burst into flames.

The technique dissolves abruptly as Seshen has completely depleted his chakra reserves. Seshen drops to one knee and looks on to see the result of his assault. Toshida remains on both his feet with smoke and steam rising from his wounds and skin as the lightning dragon technique has damaged every inch of the young boy's body. Seshen reaches behind to grasp a kunai but finds that even he has been severely weakened by the technique, as all his physical energy reserves have also been emptied.

Seshen notices he cannot see the glow of his own chakra anymore and feels more relaxed yet extremely tired. His eyes fade back to normal, just as he feels his regression, it is seen by those observing the fight.

The examiners and the Raikage look on in amazement as the conclusion of the match has come. One of the examiners comments, "It appears that the kid has reached his limit, even that great power of his bloodline must be limited . . ."

However the winner has yet to be determined as Seshen has been reduced to one knee and has been completely drained, and Toshida still remains standing, although not moving. From the examiners vantage point, it is unclear as to whether or not Toshida is even breathing.

The silence soon dissipates as the battered and broken Toshida collapses to his knees. From the left side of his mouth, a thin stream of blood begins flow outward as the right side of his mouth begins to drool as the after effects of the intense shock to his system becomes evident. Toshida then falls to the side, splashing a stream of blood and saliva across the already battle scared concrete floor of the examination arena. Life and consciousness begin to fade from Toshida's eyes as he can only look onto the victorious Seshen, and the last sight Toshida himself sees before losing consciousness, is the drained and weary Seshen falling over as well just after the examiner announces the result.

"Winner of this bout, and the graduate of this examination . . . Seshen Raiken!"

Seshen smiles slightly just before he too loses consciousness as his victory is announced before the board of examiners and his very proud father. The medic teams are soon summoned to the room to take care of the two seriously injured children who put up a hell of a fight for the right to move up in the ranks of the cloud village hierarchy.

Meanwhile, the Raikage looks down to his son as Seshen is loaded onto a stretcher to be carried out of the room and to the cloud village hospital's ICU. _"You did well Seshen. I am very proud of you. And for you Toshida . . . we know nothing about you . . . accept for what we have seen here today. I . . . and the cloud village as a whole is proud of you as well child."_

**_The next thing I remembered was waking up in the cold and blinding white hospital bed surrounded by medical equipment and covered in bandages. When I first woke, there was no one in the room besides me. I was still too weak to remain conscious and soon fell asleep again._** **_When I awoke the second time, some of my bandages had been removed and the equipment around me was not so extensive. I still felt pain in numerous areas like my face and ribs, but over all I was feeling much better. A nurse entered my room to check on me at some point in the day. By the amount of sunlight present, I can only assume it was early morning_**.

"Well hello little one. It's nice to see that you have finally regained consciousness." The young nurse says. "When you were first brought in here, we weren't sure if Seshen-kun had killed you or not. You were in pretty rough shape."

"Seshen?" The tired and weary Toshida mutters as he remembers the final moments of his match with Seshen that to him feel like only a few minutes ago. "Dammit . . . I lost didn't I?" Toshida asks as her turns to the nurse.

The nurse smiles as the young boy before her that before looked so helpless, no seems overly disappointed in himself. "You didn't lose child. You survived the fight and you will fight another day. For a shinobi that is a victory. Both you and Seshen-kun battled hard against one another from what I hear. He was in pretty rough shape when they initially brought him here as well."

"What?" Toshida exclaims. "Seshen is here too?"

"He was here. He was released two days ago after his injuries were no longer anything serious. He only spent the night here before we patched him up and sent him home to recoup on his own. I doubt that we could have kept him here much longer anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well it is the strangest thing . . . when Seshen awoke after the match he was famished. He ate more then four times the regular rations for our patients."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"No, he ate four times the amount of rations for ALL of our patients." The nurse says as she chuckles slightly. "I have never seen anything like it. It was like he was wasting away for days without eating anything. But the Raikage said that he had eaten just before he came to the examination. Strange don't you think?"

Toshida sighs and does not answer as the words of Seshen's quick recovery is slightly damaging to the young shinobi's pride. "Damn I thought that I had done more damage then that."

"That's a horrible thing to say. Seshen was in a lot of pain when he came in here. We had to scrape out some of the salt crystals from the wound on his knee in order help the pain subside. Only after torturing the poor child, were we able to finally begin sealing his wounds."

_**Although I may have seemed like a sadistic child to the nurse, deep down I was glad to here that Seshen was ok and that he was no seriously injured. There was a knock at the door while I was looking out the window, and I didn't know who it was at the time but the nurse simply bowed and took her leave of me in a hurray.**_

"Well good morning Toshida." The voice of the unknown figure says, pulling Toshida's attention away from the clouds outside his hospital room window. As Toshida turns to look at the figure, he is surprised to see the man whom he has referred to as his target almost since the day he was born . . . Yamato Dake, The Raikage of the cloud village.

"R-Raikage-sama?" A confused and startled Toshida blurts out just as he tries to rise from his bed to greet the leader of the cloud village. Toshida finds himself struck with an intense sensation of pain in his ribs as he tries to rise from his bed and soon finds himself falling back into his sitting up position, as the Raikage gently helps the boy to get comfortable again without hurting himself.

"Easy there young shinobi. You have been in hospital for almost three days now. I don't want you to have to stay here for three more days now do I?" The Raikage says as he shows a cheerful and almost childish smile on his face.

"N-no Raikage-sama." The confused Toshida says, as he lays back down in his bed. _"This is the man I am supposed to kill? But he looks . . . he looks so friendly." _Toshida turns to the Raikage. "But Raikage-sama . . . what are you doing here sir?"

"Well I am here to see you Toshida."

"Me? What can I do for you Raikage-sama?"

"Don't try and pull that on me Toshida. You and I at this moment are equal. I am not the Raikage right now." The Raikage removes his robe and hat and places them across the base of Toshida's bed. "You and I are here together as equals. I just want to talk to you my little friend. May I do that?"

Toshida looks confused as the Raikage has laid down his guard, and his authority in front of the young man who has been trained since birth to bring about his demise. Toshida moves his hand under the blankets of his hospital bed and removes his I.V. from the back of his hand and readies it in his hand. "Yes I . . . I suppose so Raikage-sama."

"Very well then Toshida, thank you." The Raikage scratches his head and takes his eyes of the young shinobi wielding a sharp needle in his hand.

"_If I can strike fast enough, I can plunge this needle into the side of his head. If I aim just right, I should be able to pierce the temporalis muscle (Temple area of the head). If I can do that, it should either kill him instantly, or distract him enough for me to reach one of his kunai. If he turns to the left, I can grab a kunai and sever the femoral artery via the back of his leg. No wait . . . that's too far from the abdominal aorta. It would take too long for him to die, I could be discovered by then. If he turns to the right though, I can still get a kunai from his pouch and stab him in the descending aorta from behind. It would kill him much quicker and would give me a chance to get away." _Toshida tries to move his leg and finds that his body is still very weak after being stuck in bed for three days.

"I wanted to say congratulations on your match with my son."

Toshida's eyes focus in on the Raikage and the grip on his needle begins to loosen. "But . . . I lost the match Raikage-sama."

"The decision may have gone to Seshen, but you put up one of the best fights I have ever seen in my time as Raikage. You made Seshen earn every inch in that match, and even in defeat you were still a winner in my eyes. That is why, I discussed it with the examiners, and for the first time in years, both participants in the examination have graduated. You and Seshen are both genin's as of the conclusion of that match."

Toshida lets go of the needle and lets it fall to his side. "Thank you Raikage-sama . . . but I don't think that I deserve it."

"Oh nonsense Toshida. You and Seshen are the flagships that will drive this villages force into the next generation. You two are perfect examples of how strong our country is. You almost killed each other during that fight and for what? For the right to serve your village and your country to your fullest potential and to be the best. And you both survived to fight another day. I cannot think of any better representatives for our country's shinobi program than you and Seshen. I am very proud of both of you."

Toshida brushes the needle off the side as his intentions of striking the Raikage have subsided as he finds himself confused and awestruck by the Raikage's words. "You're . . . proud of me?"

"Of coarse I am Toshida. I am very proud of you. As the Raikage of the cloud village, I am like the father of all the shinobi that fall under my command. Even those who are training to follow my orders are the youngest of my children. And just like every father, I am always proud of my children."

"Every father is proud of their child?"

_**To me that was something I could have only dreamed of. My father never said he was proud of me for anything I did. If I hit four targets in a row during practice, he'd tell me to hit five. When I hit five, he'd tell me to hit ten. Nothing was ever good enough for my father and to me, fathers' were only proud of children that deserved the praise. I always thought it was my fault . . . and that I wasn't good enough for my father to be proud of me. Yet, here is a man sitting in front of me who I had been told since as long as I can remember, was a monster and a lying snake . . . was sitting in front of me as a regular human being . . . smiling and telling me that he was proud of me. I had never felt that way before . . . but for the first time since I lost my mother . . . I was happy. I was content with my life . . . I didn't want to kill this man who was making me feel so happy.**_

"Well of coarse all fathers are proud of their children. That is the right thing to do. To know that something you had created and nurtured since birth is progressing so well in life . . . and all of their other endeavors . . . and making their own choices . . ."

"Making their own choices?" Toshida asks. Memories begin to flood back into Toshida's mind. Memories that Toshida had almost forgotten begin to surface again.

He remembers sitting with his mother years ago during one of their secret meetings in the village of sin.

_**(Flashback)**_

"_Toshida," Yuna says, getting the attention of her son. "Do you ever cry?"_

"_Do I ever cry?" Toshida begins to think as far back as he can remember, and no memory comes to mind of him ever shedding tears. "No mommy, I can't say that I ever have. Why are you asking?"_

"_I can't remember either. I can't remember you ever crying because you were hurt . . . or sad . . . even when you were a baby . . . you never cried._

"_But why is that important mom?"_

"_Do you know what tears are Toshida?"_

"_Yes. They are another way for your body to release adrenaline to prevent . . ."_

"_I know that you know what they are literally, but do you know what tears symbolize in children?"_

"_Um . . . no mom . . . I don't" The question put before him has Toshida perplexed as he tries to understand the hidden meaning behind shedding tears._

"_Tears Toshida . . . is a symbol of your innocence. Every child is born innocent Toshida. I was, you were, every child is born with a clean slate and a life that is white and blank. It's their life to control . . . their destiny to manipulate."_

"_Why are you telling me this mom?"_

"_I am telling you this because your father has been trying to steal your innocence since the day you were born. He has been trying to manipulate you into living the life that he wants you live to fulfill his own personal desires. And that's not right!"_

" _. . . never forget your innocence. No matter what your father tells you, you are a good boy. You are a child with a promising future . . . and nothing that he could ever do and ever will do, will change that. He wants you to take the life of his enemies for him . . . and by doing so . . . he would gladly have you lose your innocence for the pursuit of his own revenge. If you take a life Toshida . . . you have robbed someone of their innocence . . . and robbed yourself of your own. You have to do whatever you can in order maintain your innocence . . . if you lose it . . . there may be nothing you can do to redeem yourself. And if that happens . . . you may never be able to live the life you were promised at birth . . . one that you set for yourself."_

_Yuna then breaks down and cries, pulling her son close to her, clutching him tightly in her arms as she cries heavily on his shoulder._

_**(Flashback Ends)**_

"Why yes Toshida. Every child should have the freedom to make their own choice's child. No child should ever be forced to follow a path that is not their own. I am surprised that you don't know that."

"I just . . ." Toshida tries to think of way to defend his father simply out of instinct . . . but is unable to shake the impact of the Raikage's words.

"I take it Toshida, that your parents had your life planned out for you?"

"Yes . . . Raikage-sama. My parents wanted me . . . to be a shinobi."

"And a very good shinobi you have already become Toshida. You would do your parents proud if they were here today. But is being a shinobi what you wanted to do with your life Toshida?"

"I . . . I don't . . . I mean I never . . . I don't know Raikage-sama."

"What do you mean you don't know? There are hundreds of different opportunities for a young man like yourself. There is no end to the possibilities."

"I never thought about it that way Raikage-sama."

"I will tell you what Toshida, I will pull whatever strings I need to, to ensure that you are a happy young man. If it means that I will lose you as a soldier . . . then so be it. If you wish to become a chef . . . or an architect, an innkeeper or a politician, I will do whatever it takes to see that you are on your way to accomplishing whatever your ambitions are. So please . . . take some time to think it over, and when you come to a decision let me know and it will be done."

_**My whole mind was in shambles after that message . . . I was always told that my destiny and my spot in life . . . was as a weapon . . . an instrument for my father's revenge. And now the most powerful man in the country, is telling me that if I want to spend my life baking pies and cooking ramen that's ok with him? And that he will help me with that? What was I supposed to think? What was I supposed to do? The Raikage turned my whole world upside down in a matter of fifteen minutes. I began to doubt my father . . . I doubted my life as a shinobi . . . I doubted everything.**_

Suddenly, the door opens abruptly and one of the Raikage's advisors and personal guards shows up with a piece of paper in his hands and an exasperated look on his face.

"Raikage-sama! Pardon the interruption sir, but we have news from the front, and it isn't good."

The Raikage nods with a concerned look on his face and turns his attention to Toshida still confused as he lay in bed. "I am sorry Toshida, but I must attend to this. Remember what I told you ok? And get back to me."

"Y-yes Raikage-sama."

The Raikage grabs his robe and hat and follows the advisor out of the room as he is handed the notice from the front of the lines. The Raikage stops in mid stride as they walk through the hallway toward the cloud villages briefing room for all its military forces.

He lowers his head and turns to the advisor. "Please tell me that this is not accurate."

"I wish I could Raikage-sama, but it has been confirmed. We have lost Tarawa Creek."

"Dammit!" The Raikage says, as he crumbles the notice in his hand before throwing it to the floor. "We had our 3rd and 4th battalion reinforcing that front only two days ago. How is it that we lost the position?"

"Well, reports are coming in slowly, but apparently the leaf's were able to pull forces out from the battles along the southwestern border to back up their soldiers. They attacked en mass early yesterday morning and managed to push our forces back to just six miles south of the border late yesterday evening. Our losses are estimated at around one hundred and twenty."

"A hundred and twenty? Good god. We cannot afford to let the leafs keep Tarawa Creek. That plateau holds the key to launching a campaign into the Thunder country itself. If they manage to hold on to that area, they will have the perfect camp ground to mass their forces."

"What do you want me to do Raikage-sama?"

The Raikage catches a deep breath as he tries to come up with a plan of action to counter the leaf's attack. "Send order to Shin. I want him to take command of the 7th battalion. When he has done that, I want word sent out to the 1st and 2nd divisions that are holding position along the eastern front to meet Shin at the border. I also want the 9th and 10th battalions to combine their forces, and funnel in toward the Hiroshi pass."

"The Hiroshi pass sir? Why would we send any one there?"

"Because with the way these leafs fight, they will surely try and maintain their momentum and keep pushing us backward so that they can develop enough breathing room between our forces and the base they will no doubt erect at Tarawa Creek. But if we block off the Hiroshi pass with our forces, then the only way for the leafs to push further into the thunder country, is through the Shitsune gully."

"Ah yes, I think I understand now. We cluster the only easy way into the thunder country and force the leafs to find another way around. They will try and flank our troops in the pass, and have to go through the gully. Everywhere else is just mountains. When they pass through the gully, they will be vulnerable."

"Right. That is when Shin will have his forces placed along the mountain tops that surround the gully. They can attack from the high ground and force the leafs to either advance through the gully, where the 1st division will be blocking their path, or they can retreat only to find the 2nd division waiting for them. We will completely block them off . . . and then it will be their turn to fall back. With their expeditionary forces wiped out, they will most certainly try and regroup their troops at Tarawa Creek. And when they do that, we will have five whole battalions charging toward them."

"Brilliant Raikage-sama. I will send word to Shin immediately." The advisor says as he takes his leave of the Raikage, running down the hallway in an effort to reach the Raikage's right hand with news of the counter attack.

The Raikage begins to walk down the hallways as well but finds himself drawn to the room that he just left. He turns around and looks back at Toshida's room, when something Shin said earlier comes to his mind.

_**(Flashback)**_

"_Yes Shin, that is the strange Toshida child. Apparently he is an orphan from the northern provinces. He has also been giving my son quite the run in the race for top of the class. This child may prove to be a great asset to our military as soon as he comes of age. God knows we can use all the help we can get. This war with the leaf is taking its toll. But why do you ask Shin?"_

"_Just this boy . . . he looks rather familiar. I know I have never seen him before . . . but perhaps I knew his parents?"_

"_Not likely. They were farmers in the northern provinces, and I doubt that you have known anyone up that way."_

"_Yea I guess you're right Raikage-sama. But still . . . his face just looks familiar._

_**(Flashback Ends)**_

The Raikage thinks to himself_, "Strange isn't it Shin . . . I am beginning to think that I have met this boy before as well."_


	11. Innocence and Loyalty

_**Toshida Gaiden Chapter 11: Innocence and Loyalty **_

Toshida and Kakashi leap from tree to tree running directly through the lightning country on their way back to the leaf village. Toshida clutches his side, still reeling from his intense battle with Seshen, leaving his wounded opponent behind lying unconscious in the Village of Sin. Kakashi stares at Toshida, watching his every movement, looking for any sign that the dragon may have grown more aware then the two shinobi can afford to risk.

"How are you doing?" Kakashi asks.

"I'll be fine." Toshida coarsely responds. "My injuries would have healed by now, if we weren't trying so hard to make it back home. Most injuries I sustain can be healed enough by the dragon's chakra in a few hours, as long as it is the only thing I am focusing on. More serious injuries require a few days rest."

"Very well then. We should stop for awhile then."

"Not yet. We are too close to the cloud village. I am surprised that we have not come across any patrols yet. But if we get too close to the village I can almost guarantee that we will face a couple. Let us at least cross over this next series of gullies and then we can take a break." Toshida clasps his side yet again as the gash on his side continues bleeding. Toshida takes his hand off, inadvertently showing a blood covered hand to Kakashi.

"I think we should stop now Toshida. We will just have to take the risk. We need to dress some of your injuries before we move any further."

"I'M FINE!" Toshida blurts back, keeping his attention forward. Toshida focuses on the trees in front of him as he continues leaping from perch to perch. His vision soon becomes blurred and then finally blacks out. Toshida's body goes limp and he misses the next branch to land on and instead continues with the flow of gravity and falls straight to the ground.

"TOSHIDA!" Kakashi hollers before leaping toward the falling shinobi, grabbing him quickly out of mid air seconds before Toshida hits the ground. Kakashi carries the wounded shinobi to an open pasture just over the nearest hill at the bottom of one of the gullies.

As Toshida lay unconscious on the ground, Kakashi dresses the shinobi's wounds and see's that his injuries heal as much as possible. Meanwhile, Toshida's mind races as his mind falls into a dream. A dream . . . of times past.

The scene is nine years ago just after Toshida is released from the hospital after his graduation fight against Seshen. Toshida is walking back to the secret home him and his father have created in the five finger mountain range, far away from the prying eyes of the cloud village. As Toshida approaches the open of a cave, Akira Kunashiro leaves the dark depths of the cavern to greet him.

"There you are! Where in the hell have you been Toshida? I was beginning to worry."

"I was injured during the examination." A shy Toshida quietly responds.

"I see. And how did your examination go? Did you kill that other boy like I told you?"

Toshida does not look into his fathers judging eyes as he remembers his loss to Seshen Raiken. "No father . . . Seshen beat me."

"He beat you!" You? I have training you to be the greatest product of shinobi training ever since you could understand what I was telling you and you mean to tell me that bastard's son BEAT YOU!"

"I'm sorry father! He's strong and I couldn't . . ." Toshida is unable to finish his sentence as the back to Kunashiro's hand strikes him hard across the face. Toshida stands his ground and simply looks back to his father only to receive two more strikes.

"Don't . . . ever come up with excuses Toshida. You lost . . . because you were weak." Kunashiro glares down with disappointment at his son. "I have taught you everything I could, and you turn around and screw things up. All you had to do . . . was beat A CHILD! If you had killed that boy then the Raikage would have been broken . . . he would have been hurt . . . and we would have almost been even. But now . . . what am I going to do?"

Toshida remembers the Raikage's words about Toshida being able to choose his own path in life.

_**Flashback**_

"_Every child should have the freedom to make their own choice's child. No child should ever be forced to follow a path that is not their own. I am surprised that you don't know that."_

"_I just . . ." Toshida tries to think of way to defend his father simply out of instinct . . . but is unable to shake the impact of the Raikage's words._

"_I take it Toshida, that your parents had your life planned out for you?"_

"_Yes . . . Raikage-sama. My parents wanted me . . . to be a shinobi."_

"_And a very good shinobi you have already become Toshida. You would do your parents proud if they were here today. But is being a shinobi what you wanted to do with your life Toshida?"_

"_I . . . I don't . . . I mean I never . . . I don't know Raikage-sama."_

"_What do you mean you don't know? There are hundreds of different opportunities for a young man like yourself. There is no end to the possibilities."_

"_I never thought about it that way Raikage-sama."_

"_I will tell you what Toshida, I will pull whatever strings I need to, to ensure that you are a happy young man. If it means that I will lose you as a soldier . . . then so be it. If you wish to become a chef . . . or an architect, an innkeeper or a politician, I will do whatever it takes to see that you are on your way to accomplishing whatever your ambitions are. So please . . . take some time to think it over, and when you come to a decision let me know and it will be done."_

_**Flashback Ends**_

Toshida dares not to repeat any of the Raikage's words as he knows that another lashing from his father would be evident.The idea of no longer training to kill . . . training for revenge . . . and being his father's tool, is like nothing Toshida had ever felt before. Instead, his mind remembers the Raikage being informed about Tarawa creek and the battle unfolding there.

"Father . . ." Toshida says. "I know that I failed you . . . but it won't happened again. I will go train harder then ever, and fulfill your wishes."

In response Kunashiro only smiles and Toshida . . . wakes from his dream.

"Wh-what happened?" Toshida says as he leans up from his laying position only to feel the pain in his side return. Toshida clasps his side and feels the bandaging freshly dressed on his wound. "I see. I suppose I should have listened to you huh?"

Kakashi simply nods as he adds a log onto a fire he has created, sending more smoke into the air and acting as a beacon to any surrounding patrols.

"Are you crazy Kakashi! Do you want do let the patrols know where we are?"

"There are no patrols." Kakashi says. "While you were asleep I scouted the surrounding area for more then ten miles. No patrols, and no sign of recent activity."

"No activity? That's impossible, the cloud village always has patrols out in this area, at all times. How can their be just . . . nothing?"

"I sent out my scent dogs when I was noticing such a lack of activity. One of them returned and had noticed a number of scents all coming from different directions, but funneling towards the same area. From what the told me, there were more then two hundred separate scents all heading in the same direction."

"Which direction?"

"All heading south, toward the thunder countries southern border."

"Southern border? Where the hell could they be going?"

"I don't know. But I would like to return to the village as soon as possible and perhaps find out. Can you move?"

"Yea I can move. My injuries have healed quite a bit since I was asleep. I will still need to take it easy, but I am well enough to travel."

"All right then. Lets move."

The two shinobi then set off back on coarse toward the leaf village. Leaping from tree to tree, perch to perch making great haste to return to their home as soon as possible.

Kakashi turns to Toshida with a question on his mind. "So what happened next?"

"After what?" Toshida responds.

"The Raikage gave you a choice. You could continue being a shinobi or do whatever else you wanted. I assume your father did not like that prospect. So what happened after that?"

Toshida shakes his head as he almost grows tired of Kakashi's curiosity. "Well you're right. My father wouldn't have taken kindly to the prospect of me choosing a different path. So I chose to do as I was told. I returned to the Raikage and told him that I only wished to serve him. He seemed almost disappointed in my decision, but did his best not to show it. He knew that having both me and Seshen as the two number one rookies in his military was too much of an interesting prospect for him to deny either."

_**The weeks went by, and the war between the leaf and cloud just kept getting worse and worse. The casualty reports kept ending up on the Raikage's desk . . . more names . . . more numbers. Attack after attack and counter attack after counter attack, the cloud's military force dwindled at a faster rate than the leaf's, and the stress began to build on the Raikage's shoulders. The village's faith in his leadership had been shaken and the number of funeral arrangements being made daily was wearing deeply on his soul. He may be a sinister and underhanded individual when it came to his rise to power, and the way he maintained it. But I will give him credit . . . he loved his people and his family. And I think it really hurt him to see so many of his countrymen and women being brought home in funeral shrouds.**_

Toshida and Seshen walk side by side down the main street in the cloud village, dressed in thick overcoats and hoods to protect them from the cold temperatures of this time of year. The sun is out in full force, but the chilling breeze is enough to make anyone forget about the burning orb high above them. Seshen and Toshida both wear a set of dark goggle like sunglasses to protect their eyes from the effects of snowblindness. A common problem in the thunder country during the colder seasons. The two are walking away from the Raikage's palace with their hoods up and goggles on, as they start passing the most recent caravan from the front lines. The caravan consists of seven horse drawn carriages all packed with either the dead or the injured, with dozens of walking wounded marching slowly along the sides of the wagons.

"Man, this scene is getting old." Seshen says. As he lowers his head and removes his goggles for a minute, jostling his cloud village head protector in the process, and then quickly readjusting it.

Toshida lowers his hood as well and removes his goggles, running them along the length of his braided ponytail to completely remove them. His head protector hanging diligently around his neck. "I agree. They just keep coming in day after day."

Seshen and Toshida walk along the length of the caravan surveying the injured as they walk by, showing the utmost in curiosity but still doing their best to remain respectful of those who are fighting for their country. One of the wounded soldiers, a man in his mid twenties, braces him self on a make shift crutch as he walks along side the wagon. The man collapses from exhaustion and Toshida is quick to rush to the man's aid, cradling his head and offering the man a drink of water from his canteen.

"MEDIC!" Seshen shouts abruptly to the front of the caravan, drawing the attention from two of the clouds medical ninja's who quickly move in to take over for Toshida.

"Thanks kid." One of the medics says as she slings the wounded man's arm over her shoulder and begins to help the man walk to the caravan's destination, the hospital just over the next hill.

_(Music: Queue "Oh! Student and Teacher Affection" from the Naruto OST III)_

Seshen scratches the top of his head as he continues surveying the injured. "Man this sucks! How much longer is this war gonna last? I am getting sick and tired of seeing casualty carts wheeling in the dead and dying. Then seeing them get patched up, and then sent right back out again!"

"The leafs are strong senpai. We have found a worthy adversary. It will just take longer for us to win, if we win at all." Toshida says, as he blocks the sun from his eyes as he looks out toward the front gates.

"If we win at all? What the hell is that supposed to mean you dumb ass!" Seshen spouts off, as an angry scowl comes over his face. "The Cloud is the strongest village in the five countries and these leaf pigs will learn it soon enough."

"You are way to hot headed Seshen. You need to learn to relax a little." Toshida says, almost laughing off Seshen's retort.

"Bite me, dick head!" Seshen says, raising his middle finger to his old rival. "I just want to know when it will be our turn."

"What do you mean OUR turn?" Toshida questions.

"I mean I want to know when father is going to start sending out the top genin's on missions to help aid in the war effort. All of our chuunin's and jounin's are either out on the front lines or they are behind enemy lines pulling some real S-rank missions." Seshen almost cracks a smile at the thought of finally seeing battle. "It is only a matter of time before the Raikage decides that the war effort will need to become complete, and the strongest of all the genin's will start getting B and A rank missions. Cause I am not sure about you but I am getting a little tired of all these C and D class missions. Shoveling the palace walkway and de-icing the front gates is not my idea of benefitting the war effort!"

"I have to agree with you on that. If I have to replace one more cold cracked carriage wheel I think I am going to snap." The two shinobi both share a laugh and a smile for the first time in many weeks. Toshida smiles both outside and inside as he and Seshen have seemingly found a common ground in which to communicate with one another.

The two had never been ones to simply go out and take a stroll throughout the cloud village. Neither of the shinobi partook in any of the games the other children would play, and the academy was not in session for the next few days. The two both separately spent their time training or immersed in their studies. For Toshida, it was nice to be able to just spend time with another human being. One that wasn't giving him orders . . . or telling him how he will live his life. But another child, in a similar situation . . . a comrade . . . an equal.

"So you say only the strongest genin will be asked to perform these missions eh?" Toshida says, as he turns his back to Seshen with a big smile on his face.

"Yea that's right. Why?" Seshen asks.

"Well I just figured that since I will be the first one asked to go on one of these missions, I will let you know how they are when I get back to the village." Toshida blurts out with a smug grin across his face, determined to get a rise out of Seshen.

"HAHAHA YEA RIGHT!" Seshen laughs out. "You and I both know that I am the stronger of the two of us. You only graduated because I made you look so good in front of the Raikage! And besides, I got promoted immediately to the captain of Alpha team. You got to settle for second rank in Delta squad. So yea, tell me another lie dumb ass!"

Toshida just shakes his head as he laughs along with Seshen. No witty retort and no more insults between the two. Their laughing is soon cut short when Seshen notices Shin walking at the end of the caravan.

_(Music Ends)_

"Shin-sensei!" Seshen shouts as he runs off to hear his fathers right hand, tell him of the most recent battle. Leaving Toshida behind who only stands and stares menacingly at the man who he is being trained to kill. Toshida leaves the two to talk to one another and he continues on his way through the cloud village. Waving goodbye to Seshen as he leaves.

_**More days would go by as usual. I would have the academy training lessons, walk home passing more casualties on my way into the mountains to continue with my training. I soon noticed that Seshen wasn't coming to class anymore, he had indeed been called into active duties outside the village and was receiving training from the village ANBU teams as well as other special jounin's. Apparently using a child to complete missions was proving to be more effective then the Raikage had originally thought. He had more faith in his son's ability then he did with more then half of his jounin. It wasn't long before I heard of Seshen being given a field commission of Chuunin. **_

_(Music: Queue "Loneliness (Kodoku) from the Naruto OST)_

_**Everyday, more and more genin were called up to perform missions, while I was left behind.**_

Toshida sits in the academy classroom bored beyond belief, listening to the shinobi instructor at the front of the class as he dictates and instructs the remaining class members in numerous area's of study.

_**Everyday listening to the same old thing, day in and day out. Coming in to see another empty seat in the classroom where another child used to sit. I could almost see a ghostly image of the child that used to sit there. Now they were out on missions. And I was left behind.**_

**_The cloud village is one of the only villages that continues academy schooling even after a genin promotion. You simply move up in the grades and study throughout certain points in the day, you work missions with your team on other parts of the day, and the rest of the time is spent training. Most people got to go home afterward and relax, but I simply went home to more training under my father's forceful hand._** **_Then I would wake up, make my way into the village, and find another empty seat in the classroom._**

_**Even the instructor changed several times, as one teacher would leave on assignment to the front and another would take its place. And I . . . was left behind.**_

_**Until one day while on one of my walks through the village, another casualty caravan came rolling through the village. The wagons were filled with corpses . . . of genin no older then I was. Some of them even younger than me. It was then that I decided . . . that I didn't want to be left behind anymore.**_

_(Music Ends)_

Toshida walks through the dark torch lit hallways of the Raikage's palace on his way to the main throne room. Passing numerous Jounin on his journey even this late at night. As he comes up to the giant black and gold doors of the rooms back entrance he takes a deep breath as he places his hand on the doors surface. Toshida strikes the door twice, sending an echoing wave throughout the room before an reply is heard.

"Come in." The Raikage's quiet voice says. Toshida opens the door and walks in to see the Raikage sitting at a desk behind the main throne looking over more of the casualty reports that arrive on his desk everyday. The Raikage holds his face in his palms and the remnants of a few tears are visible on his face. "Ah Toshida!" The Raikage says, bringing a smile to his face, seemingly like the only smile the man has made in many months. "This is a bit of a surprise. Please, please come in!"

Toshida walks toward the Raikage's desk being gestured toward a seat in front of the Raikage's. "Please Toshida take a seat." The Raikage says in a happy voice.

"Actually is it alright if I stand, Raikage-sama?" Toshida responds looking downward and not making eye contact with the Cloud village leader.

"Only if you can look me in the eyes when you speak young shinobi" The Raikage says, smiling as he tries successfully to get a smile out of Toshida. "Now Toshida, what can I do for you?"

_**I knew what I was there to talk to him about . . . but for some reason the words would not reach my mouth. I wanted to tell the Raikage that I was angry with him . . . that I wanted to know why it is that he wouldn't let me fight. Why it was that he insulted me by making it seem like I wasn't good enough. **_

**_But that wasn't why I was really there. I wasn't angry because I was having my skills ignored . . . I was tired of seeing my classmates disappear. I was sick of seeing their families weeping in the streets as their bodies were brought back home for burial. I hated not knowing how they were doing . . . whether or not they were ok. Only knowing that they were fighting for their home while I was siting in class listening to some third rate instructor babbling on about shuriken tactics and how to read a map!_**

"Raikage-sama . . . why haven't I been sent to the front lines with the rest of my classmates?" A quiet and nervous Toshida asks.

The Raikage's cheerful smile fades from his face as Toshida's words are of a very personal nature. "Well Toshida . . . I don't think you really want to fight."

"What? But . . . I have always scored high marks in my classes and I just want to help."

"Yes Toshida. But I can see it in your eyes . . . you don't really want to be here. When I asked you about the choices in life that all people can make, I could see that you were confused and uncertain if the path you were walking was the one that you wanted. But since you decided to continue on this journey, I figured it was because of some other influence. Not from your own will. You don't want to be a shinobi. And it wouldn't be right of me to send you off to fight when you could be doing something else."

**_His words were shocking to me. This_** **_man whom I had been taught to hate, was caring more for me than my father ever had. How could he choose to send his son out on missions that could result in death, and keep me behind because he didn't think I wanted to fight._**

"But Raikage-sama, I am one of the only ones in my class left. I could be useful in this fight . . . I could run whatever missions you need . . .or even help with repairs to weapons at the front. Why won't you use me Raikage-sama?"

"All of those genin who I sent out to the front lines, wanted to fight and to even die if necessary for their home. I just don't think you can honestly say the same Toshida."

Toshida grinds his teeth as the lessons from his father are foremost in his mind. Being trained to live a life that could end up killing him, has been Toshida's entire purpose in life. But for the first time, Toshida wants to fight for something other than his father's interests. He wishes to fight . . . for his comrades . . . and for his home.

Toshida calms down quickly and looks the Raikage straight in the eyes. "I am prepared to die Raikage-sama. I am prepared to die for my home . . . and for my comrades." Toshida notices the Raikage shaking his head as he rises from his desk and begins to turn his back on Toshida. "I want to fight Raikage-sama! Send me to the front lines!"

The Raikage angrily turns around to face Toshida, pointing a judgmental finger at the young boy as he scolds, "You haven't the vaguest conception of what you ask boy!"

"Please Raikage-sama I want to help!"

"You cannot ask this of me . . . YOU CANNOT!" The Raikage screams, showing the intense burden that has been plaguing his heart for so long. The Raikage lowers his head and begins to regain his composure in front of the still focused yet nervous Toshida. "I cannot send another child off to die. I can't bare to see another one of my children come home in a funeral shroud."

_**His children? The Raikage considered me to be one of his children? My mind was racing with confusion at the mans words. This man was showing that he genuinely cared about me. Not as a tool . . . or a weapon . . . or a resource that could easily be exploited. But as a human being and . . . as a son . . . a child. All the things that my father never did.**_

"Did you know Toshida . . . that Seshen was in the village recently?" The Raikage asks.

"Wh-what? Seshen was here? Why . . . why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't he come by the school I wanted to see if he was . . ." Toshida stammers for a minute, as caring and compassion, have never been his strong points . . . for they were never taught to him by his father. "I wanted to see . . . if he was ok."

"He arrived more then a week ago. But he wasn't able to visit the school, because he spent his entire stay in the hospital."

"Th-the hospital? But . . .wh-what happened to him?"

"During one of those missions I sent him on, he suffered some serious injuries. His injuries caused him to miss his transport at its rally point and he was forced to walk . . . for three days back to the village. He made it halfway to the hospital before he collapsed." The Raikage does his best not to show anymore emotion in front of the young shinobi. "And being the loving father that I am, I rushed to be at his side while he recovered. And as soon as he was healed, do you know what I did Toshida?"

"No sir . . . I don't."

"I SENT HIM RIGHT BACK OUT ON ANOTHER MISSION!" The Raikage's bottom lip quivers as his eyes tear up, overwhelm by emotion. "What kind of father does that to his son? What kind of leader does that to his people?" The Raikage's disposition becomes more then clear as the valiant leader of the cloud village, reveals himself . . . as a man broken up inside over the plight of his people. "I had no choice but to send my adopted son out on another mission . . . that could have him come home only to be buried. But as the leader of this village and the military leader in this country I have to make decisions from this office everyday that will be sending more of my countrymen to their deaths. Even . . . even their children." The Raikage turns his back to Toshida and hangs his head in front of him. "I cannot have another genin . . . another child, stand here in front of me and ask to die."

"Raikage-sama!" Toshida pleads. "I beg of you . . . I don't want to see any of my classmates return home that way either. But . . . I can no longer sit idly by while my friends . . . and my comrades die in this war while I am left behind to simply watch another casualty caravan stroll into the village. Please Raikage-sama, I am not anxious to die, I am just anxious to make a difference. To know that I did my part to see to it that my classmates and my countrymen return home."

_**The Raikage and I would stare each other down for a little while longer, before he broke down and finally gave me a field commission of chuunin and sent me off to the front. I didn't tell my father that I was leaving, and I packed my supplies and readied for battle. The Raikage was their to see me off the next day before I joined the next caravan to the front.**_

The Raikage kneels in front of Toshida as Toshida stands, dressed in a cloud shinobi's uniform. His protector with cloud village insignia tied firmly around his head with his shoulder length dark hair draped over the sides of the cloth, and the hair at the back of his head raised up in a ponytail and draped over the knot at the back. He wears a dark brown traveling cloak over top of his dark blue chuunin's vest for added warmth and his shuriken pouch strapped to his right leg.

"I will tell you the same thing that I told Seshen, when he left for the front. I want you to make sure that you return to me . . . alive. You got that Toshida?" The Raikage says, as he places his hands on Toshida's shoulders.

"I understand Raikage-sama. I will do the village proud. And return home when the war is over."

The Raikage reaches under his robe and pulls out two small sheaths. "Here. I want you to have these Toshida." Toshida takes the sheaths and removes the decorative blades. Two wooden handles engraved with cloud village insignias and symbols, at the bottom of two curved scimitar like blades with decorative designs carved into the metal with the blades being perfect length from Toshida's wrist to his elbow. Toshida begins to spin and juggle one of the blades over top of his wrist and around either side of his hand with perfect precession, surprising the Raikage.

"Full bodied and triple riveted design . . . heavier handle to balance out the blade . . . and an angled grip for easier wielding. Thank you Raikage-sama." Toshida smiles as he straps the blades to his belt, fastening them horizontally along his back at hip level.

"Go now Toshida. Keep safe and return home soon." The Raikage watches Toshida as he runs to join up with the rest of the caravan, waving goodbye to the Raikage as he leaps into the back of a wagon filled with supplies and a few other shinobi. The wagon leaves the village, and makes its way to the nearest outpost.

**_We traveled for a day in that wagon before reaching the next outpost_**. **_I transferred to a different caravan, carrying nothing but new shinobi to the front. That caravan took me to the front lines where I would see battle for the first time. I could here the echoing of explosions and steel on steel from more than a mile away. We passed through the mountains and into the next valley. Then past another gully and into the wide open space that was the destination. I could see a massive army of shinobi massing across the wide open field more then three miles away. The green grass had been stained red in numerous spots, and I could see the glistening of steel in the battlefield from shuriken left behind, and the army from the cloud set up in tents making a temporary base of operations as they too had begun massing for the next assault._**

_**We all stepped off the caravan and walked down the hill and then walked knee deep into the rushing water that circles and intersects part of the battlefield. We crossed the creek and walked up the hill only to see the ridge that the cloud had been holding. We walked through the tents and small shanties set up along the plateau on the way to the ridge. **_

**_I left the rest of the shinobi behind as I walked to the edge of the ridge to see the battlefield in its entirety. It was more then fifty meters down the hill to get to the valley below_**. **_From there, the valley spread out for almost three miles before the horizon filled with the leaf encampment. I was overwhelmed at first, being a child so young at such a grand battlefield. But soon afterward, I began to smile . . . as part of me deep down . . . was more excited then I had even been. _**

"You there!" A voice calls from behind Toshida.

"Yes sir?" Toshida responds.

"Are you one of the new arrivals?" The cloud jounin asks.

"Yes sir, I am." Toshida says, as he turns around to be addressed by his superior.

_**It would be soon after that I would realize, that my request to be sent to the front . . . would be the greatest mistake I would ever make.**_

"Well then," the cloud jounin says. "Welcome . . . to Tarawa Creek.


	12. The Battle of Tarawa Creek

Kakashi and Toshida continue leaping from tree to tree on their way home. Kakashi awaits Toshida's next few words, as the climax of Toshida's back story has finally arrived. All that Kakashi has wanted to know about Toshida's past is about to be heard.

Toshida continues on his way pausing for a minute to collect his thoughts, as this part of his life has always been more of a touchy subject for him. As he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, he prepares to proceed with his story.

Suddenly, more than a thousand voices echo in Toshida's head, screaming at the top of their lungs as the beg and plead, referring to Toshida in general as well as an anonymous third party. Toshida clutches at the sides of his head as the voices become louder and louder, driving him to the brink of insanity before the voices become his primary focus. The voices are joined by the sounds of rushing water and clanging metal echoing louder and louder. Once again Toshida falls from the trees, hitting the ground hard as the voices have become too much for him to brush off. Toshida grunts and screams as he rolls on the ground in agony, tortured by the sounds that haunt his mind.

"What's wrong!" Kakashi says, as he lands beside Toshida apprehensive about how to act in front of the panicking shinobi.

"THEY WON'T . . . JUST SHUT UP!" Toshida screams, "THEY'RE TOO LOUD! TOO LOUD!" Toshida writhes around on the ground clutching at his head and screaming his lungs out as his elbows and forehead dig into the soft dirt of the forest floor.

After several minutes of struggling to regain control over his own mind, Toshida raises his head up to see the tip of a kunai aimed right between his eyes. Kakashi looks down the blade at Toshida with a focused and determined look on his face, his sharingan eye revealed as he has readied himself for battle.

"Is there a problem?" The cold shinobi asks.

"No . . . I don't think so . . ." Toshida replies as he brushes off the dirt from his frame. "It has never been that bad before. I could hear them all . . . screaming at once. I don't understand. Screams, metal clashing, running water . . ." Toshida's ears soon focus in on the sound of rushing water that has still not faded from his ears. "Do you hear that?" He asks.

"What?" Kakashi replies.

"The water. Do you hear water somewhere?"

Kakashi focuses on the surrounding area, and the faint sound of rushing water soon reveals itself to Kakashi's ears. "Yes. I hear it now."

"But I don't know where any streams are around here. Actually I am not sure where _here_ is." Toshida looks around the surrounding area and their location soon becomes evident to the Sin shinobi. "No . . . we can't be . . ."

Without warning, Toshida leaps to his feet and with great haste, makes his way just west of where the two shinobi had stopped. As he can see a bright shade of green through the trees shining into his eyes, he increases his speed until he arrives just outside of the forest. Looking out into the great beyond, Toshida can see a bright green field with a stream running through it. The end of the large plateau is a set of rolling hills with the first being more than fifty meters high. The glistening of rusted shuriken is still visible in the clear light of the day time, like a hundred sparks of light across the green plain.

"We're here . . . already." Toshida says, just as Kakashi catches up to him.

"Where? What is this?"

"This Kakashi . . . Is Tarawa Creek."

**_Toshida Gaiden Chapter 12: The Battle of Tarawa Creek_**

"This is Tarawa Creek?" Kakashi asks. "I have never seen it before."

Toshida does not answer and instead begins to walk into the center of the massive field. As he walks further and further into the field, memories of war time floods back into Toshida's mind. Toshida can see ghostly images of soldiers from the leaf and cloud battling one another to the death around him. Bodies lay strewn across the battlefield as if they were cattle, and the river runs red as if it were blood. Toshida comes to a particular spot wear a thick spear blade lay half buried in the ground. As Toshida leans down, prone to one knee, he reaches out and grabs the arched spear head. As he touches the blade with his right hand, his left rubs against the scar at the base of his hairline. The sound of the blade slamming hard against his skin still echoes in his head. He looks to his right and can see the ghostly image of a young boy dying on the ground staring deep into his eyes as he breathes his last breaths. Toshida closes his eyes as he begins to tear up, just before the shinobi in him regains control.

Kakashi stands over Toshida watching the young man's reaction. "What happened here? It's time that you told me."

Toshida grimaces as a deep scowl befalls his face. He stands to his feet and begins walking south ignoring Kakashi's request.

"Don't ignore me Toshida!" Kakashi sternly demands. "I want to know what the hell happened here and YOU are going to tell me."

"We should get moving again Kakashi. No more stories. That's what your dirty books are for." Toshida replies angrily.

"Damn you Toshida!. I have put up with all the crap you can throw at me and now I am demanding that you tell me just WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE!" Kakashi scolds.

Toshida stops in his tracks but does not turn around. He lowers his for a moment and looks around the area before finally turning his head around just enough to make eye contact with Kakashi. "Go to hell Kakashi." Toshida says firmly before turning around and continuing along his way.

"Why you little . . ." Kakashi does not finish his sentence before he charges Toshida from behind tackling the shinobi to the ground and knocking the both of them down the nearby hill.

The two roll down the hill fighting for position over the other as both have had enough of each others company. Toshida gets the advantage and without hesitation delivers a strong right hook to Kakashi's face. Kakashi retaliates with a quick jab to Toshida's injured side, knocking him off balance enough for Kakashi to reverse the advantage and straddle the shinobi. Kakashi winds up and floors Toshida with a powerful left hand, partially driving the back of Toshida's head several inches into the ground. Kakashi the grabs Toshida by the shoulders lifting him slightly off the ground and staring deep into the shinobi's eyes.

"TELL ME YOU BASTARD!" Kakashi's screams, showing the hidden angry side of the often calm and calculated jounin. "TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO MY COMRADES!"

Toshida's eyes begin to tear up as for the first time, Toshida seems to be giving in to his often sealed up emotions. He shakes his head and firmly rids his face of the sadness that it once displayed and his anger returns. "YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED SO BAD YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"YES DAMMIT!"

"FINE THEN!" Toshida says as he reaches up and clasps the sides of Kakashi's head in his hands causing Kakashi to immediately try to remove them. He soon finds out however, that Toshida's grip is almost inhumanly strong. Toshida's eyes begin to glow as the ryuugan begins to take control over. His eyes glare deep into Kakashi's and Kakashi finds himself drawn to the center of the black slitted pupil amidst the green and yellow iris. "THEN ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENED!" Toshida eyes glow brighter than ever before sending Kakashi into a hypnotic trance. "**_RYUUGAN! _**(Dragons' eye)" Toshida shouts, as Kakashi falls into a deep trance. Kakashi's mind begins to cloud . . . and his vision fades to white.

Kakashi slowly opens his eyes after what feels like hours. He can see only the dirt and grass of the area as he has been face down the whole time. He shakes of the cloudy feeling in his head to the best of his ability but is still left with an unshakable feeling of euphoria. He stands to his feet and looks around his general area looking for Toshida.

"Toshida?" He asks out loud. "Toshida?" He says again loudly, garnering no response. "I swear when I get my hands on that little . . ." Kakashi does not finish his sentence as the sword of horses can be heard in the distance. He turns around to see the open battlefield in front of him with sporadic patches of crimson strewn across the battlefield and almost no shuriken laying before him. He looks to his left along the south end of the battlefield where he can see hundreds of shinobi lined up in ranks awaiting orders several dozen meters from their base camp. The ranks consist of numerous jounin, chuunin and a number of genin all standing focused forward as they await their next command. As Kakashi does his best to remain stealthy on his way to the ranks, he notices that all of the shinobi are from the leaf village. As Kakashi looks across the battlefield he can see a large number of shinobi composing a defensive position along the top of the fifty meter high hill. It is then that Kakashi realizes what is going on.

"This . . . this is the battle. But . . . how is this possible?" Kakashi's thought process is quickly interrupted as a jounin steps in front of the ranks and begins delivering orders.

_(Music: Queue "Survival Examination" from the Naruto OST II)_

"All right. We have been here long enough. We have suffered almost as many casualties as the cloud village has. If we are to obtain a valuable staging ground for a large scale assault on our enemy then we need to seize this battlefield. And we have pushed the cloud back to that hill." The jounin turns and points to the hill across the battlefield revealing the family crest of the Uchiha clan across his arm and back. "All that is left, is for us to take this hill, and the battle is ours. We have lost many comrades on this battlefield . . . and today . . . we will make sure that all of their sacrifices have not been in vain. LET US END THIS BATTLE!"

The entire formation of leaf shinobi erupts in a cheer as they raise their fists and weapons such as, swords, spears and naginata's to the sky, screaming like a band of merciless marauders. Two of the chuunin in the ranks silent converse with one another shortly after the cheering stops. They too, are from the Uchiha clan.

"What do you think is going to happen today aniki? (Older brother)"

"I am not sure. We have been trying to get this hill for the last week. I hope today we are able to finally pull through and take it over. I am getting a little tired of the same old routine."

"Yea I agree. It sure would be nice if Itachi-san were here."

"Are you kidding? The kid may be a prodigy but he is only what? Eight? Maybe nine years old? Let him stay at home till he is old enough. His time for bloodshed will come."

The shinobi ranks begin to ready themselves for the assault while on the other side of the battlefield a young Toshida lays along the ground just barely peering over the hill top as he looks across to the leaf ranks.

"_Their sure is a lot of shinobi!" _Toshida thinks to himself, _"Hmpf. I can't wait." _A smile of excitement comes over the young shinobi's face as he awaits the leaf village's attack.

A cloud jounin lay crouched on the top of the hill as numerous other ranks stand above him or stand crouched in front of the other ranks. The cloud uses the tactic to conceal their numbers until the moment of their charge is at hand. To the leaf, they can only make out roughly one hundred shinobi making up the ranks guarding the hill. But laying down hidden on the other side of the hill and crouched amongst the front of the ranks, lay more then three hundred shinobi. A compliment of more then fifty shinobi comprises a detachment of archers all standing at the ready with arrow quivers across their backs and several arrows implanted in the ground in front of them.

The jounin then speaks. "All right everyone, they are going to rush hard and they are going to rush fast. We need to hold our positions as long as possible. The leafs are unpredictable, so we are going to try and use archers this time to hold them off. We also have a number of shinobi that will use lightning jutsu's to hold them off as well. We cannot afford to let this hill go. If this hill falls, then the cloud village may never recover. Fight hard . . . and fight well today, and maybe we can return home as heroes."

The ranks of cloud shinobi offer no great cheer like the leaf village. Instead they remain focused and silent to conceal their numbers yet again. And before any of them can really react, the leaf village begins to advance at a fast walk.

_(Authors Note: This is a rather important scene for the story and in order to full understand the atmosphere of the scene, I strongly recommend that anyone reading it, check out the following song in order to get the full feeling.)_

_(Music: Queue "Tenth Man Down" By Nightwish)_

Kakashi tries to stop the leaf shinobi from advancing toward the hill but sound finds the futility in his actions as the leaf shinobi simply walk through Kakashi as if he isn't even there.

The leaf village advances slowly until the reach the half way median in the battlefield. The front of the ranks are composed by shinobi with spear-like weapons as they lead the entire army. The following ranks are comprised of numerous shinobi of all ranks and arsenals. The ranks then split into two sections. The first cluster being made up of spear wielding shinobi and their following ranks. The second group is composed of the reserve forces. In between the two groups stands a firing line of two dozen shinobi, most of them wearing the Uchiha crest. It is only after the two groups have fully segregated themselves that the entire army stops their advance, falling just behind the three quarter mark of the battlefield.

_(Music Time: 00:35)_

The leader of the leaf army them gives out a loud order to all those in the firing line. "ALL RIGHT COMRADES! UNLEASH HELL!"

The entire firing line then proceeds to unleash a lightning fast sequenceof hand seals in almost perfect unison in speed. The shinobi then finish with different hand seals and unleash a fiery onslaught the likes of which the cloud shinobi had never seen before.

_(Music Time: 00:42)_

"**_KATON!" _**The entire firing line shouts.

"_**GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!" (Grand fireball technique)**_

"_**HOUSENKA NO JUTSU!" (Phoenix fire technique)**_

"_**KARYUU ENDAN!" (Fire Dragon blast)**_

"_**RYUUKA NO JUTSU!"(Dragon fire technique)**_

Are only some of the jutsu's shouted out as streams of fire blaze toward the hill topaccompanied by large and small blasts of fire that completely devastate the top of the hill, obliterating a large number of the cloud shinobi at the front of the line. Toshida cowers his head down and guards his face as the fire burns just above him. Toshida can feel the heat of the fire seeping through the very soil underneath himand the heat soon becomes too much for many of the shinobi to handle. And the leave their posts and retreat down the hill just out of range of the fiery onslaught, tripping over dozens of other shinobi as they retreat.

_(Music time: 00:49)_

The front of the leaf village ranks then begin to charge toward the hill as the cloud shinobi's front ranks begin to break. Wave after wave, hundreds of leaf shinobi begin running at full speed toward the base of the hill with kunai raised as waves of flame spew out from behind them.

"FIRE! FIRE!" One of the cloud jounin's screams to the archers at the bottom of the hill who are more then happy to oblige.

The entire compliment of archers then unleash an enormous wave of arrows into the air that soon rain upon the charging leaf shinobi. The arrows wisp through the area, allowing the sound of the arrows slicing the air to echo across the battlefield.

_(Music Time: 01:24)_

The wave of arrows befalls the charging ranks of leaf shinobi incapacitating a large number of them as razor sharp arrows pierce the flesh of their arms, legs and torsos and a number of unfortunate leaf shinobi quickly find out that their head protectors are not enough to stop a hailstorm of cloud village arrows

The leaf village continues to charge as the arrows rain down and fire shoots out from behind them. The reserve army set behind the firing line then begins to charge as well. Now the cloud village is looking down the face of more then three hundred charging shinobi. The fiery storm continues to obliterate the top of the mountain, preventing any cloud shinobi from getting close enough to use any jutsu against the charging army.

_(Music Time: 01:55)_

The cloud archers soon begin to run out of arrows as they continuously fire volley after volley into the charging masses. Many of the leaf shinobi struck by arrows have continued on their charge paying their injuries almost no attention.

"Shit!" The cloud leader shouts. "This isn't looking good." The cloud leader then soon thinks over his possible options in this case. And as of right now, they are very limited. "All right . . . EVERYONE FALL BACK!"

The ranks of the cloud shinobi become silent as they cannot believe what they are being asked to do. After the surprise begins to fade, many of the cloud village shinobi follow orders and begin to retreat.

"NO!" Toshida shouts. "WE HAVE TO FIGHT!"

"Forget it kid! We have no vantage point here! The battle is theirs!" One of the jounin replies.

"Forget this!" Toshida says to himself as he reaches into one of his pouches pulling out a scroll from his vest. Toshida unravels the scroll along the ground, revealing a complex summoning scroll. "I hope fathers' scroll can work in this case." Toshida bites down on his right thumb drawing blood as he swipes it along a segment of the scroll. _Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram, _Toshida finishes the seal sequence and slams his hand down hard on the scroll.

"_**Kuchiyose no jutsu!" **(Summoning technique)_ After a brief puff of smoke, Toshida reveals an entire row of kunai standing upward with the point at a seventy-degree angle pointing toward the top of the hill, all held in place by an enormous rack, holding more then one hundred kunai on its three separate levels. Each kunai has an exploding tag tied to small ring at the bottom of the kunai and a second scroll wrapped around the handle of the dagger.

"HAHA! IT WORKED!" Toshida says, with a childish giddiness.

"What the hell is that?" One of the cloud shinobi asks.

"It's a modified sword rack set up with a crap load of kunai. Each of them is attached to an exploding tag."

"But what is the other scroll for?"

"It contains a chakra control jutsu that regulates the weight of the kunai making them much lighter then a regular kunai." Toshida picks up one of the kunai and tosses it lightly into the air to demonstrate. The kunai then floats down to earth as if it were a leaf in the wind. Toshida then places the kunai back into the rack. "See? This way I can use my next jutsu to send all of these kunai over the hill and far enough to the firing line in order to attack them. As soon as they are high enough, I can release the jutsu that is affecting the kunai and they will drop from the sky. At the same time the exploding tags will be triggered and we should have one heck of a show . . . according to my father."

"You mean you have never tried this move?"

"Ummm . . . no. I never really had a reason to try it." Toshida says as he scratches the back of his head.

"But after that, then what do we do? You got any bright ideas after that kid? All that this will do is slow then down a little bit."

"But if we can get them to stop assaulting the hill top then we can focus our efforts."

"Who the hell are you kid?" Another jounin asks. "You sure as hell aint the product of our academy at your age."

"Please sir, at least let me tell you my idea."

The cloud jounin sighs slightly as he listens to Toshida's plan silently. After a few moments the cloud village shinobi line up behind Toshida as he readies his attack. Toshida then claps his hands together and readies his jutsu as he stands crouched on one knee. _Dragon, tiger, dog, hare, rat, ox._

_(Music Time: 02:13)_

"_**Hyoutetsu Arashi no jutsu!" **(Iron hailstorm technique)_ The kunai then take off from the rack leaving behind a brief flash of fire and a trail of smoke. Like a hundred bottle rockets spewing high into the air, the leaf shinobi take almost no notice of the maelstrom swirling high above them.

"KAI! (Release) Toshida shouts as the kunai reach their vertical apex. The kunai then suddenly switch direction abruptly and begin falling to earth at high speed. It is only then that the leaf shinobi take notice as the large number of kunai rains down upon their ranks, exploding at various points of their descent. Some explode seven feet in the air, and others as soon as they impact the ground. The charging leaf shinobi then focus their efforts on avoiding the exploding kunai, causing them to briefly disrupt their charge toward the hill. The leaf's firing line then focuses on using their fire jutsu's to destroy as many of the kunai as they speed toward the ground.

The cloud village then lines up as high up the hill as they can get, waiting for all of the leaf villages fire attacks to stop. When the attacks stop, the cloud village takes action.

_(Music Time: 02:32)_

The entire cloud village army lines up in an enormous gathering giving the appearance of a shinobi cloud. All shinobi then bring their kunai to the ready as they await the word to attack.

"All right! Remember, we need everyone to produce as many clones as they can without wasting too much chakra. Go for a minimum of three and ten if you can. Remember to spread out across the hill . . . AND RUN LIKE HELL!" One of the cloud jounin says as he moves to the front of the group.

Toshida finds himself in the middle of the crowded mass of cloud shinobi, not even reaching the shoulders of many of the shinobi. He gets bumped back and forth as the shinobi pack tighter and tighter, hiding their numbers.

"NOW!" The jounin leader calls. The cloud army readies their kunai to their sides and readies for their assault. Toshida reaches behind and clutches the handles of his newly acquired blades and quickly removes them from their scabbards. He takes a look along the clean and flawless steel and then focuses attention ahead, closing his eyes and controlling his breaths as his anxiety begins to swell.

"READY!" The jounin shouts, as all shinobi then create a massive army of regular clones to confuse the leaf's as they have instantly more then quadrupled their fighting force. The atmosphere is a nervous one as the cloud shinobi begin to fan out across the base of the hill and then the order is finally given.

"CHARGE!" The words echo across the cloud lines and the cloud army begins to run up and over the hill.

_(Music Time: 02:46)_

The leaf army is caught off guard as the illusion of almost a thousand cloud shinobi charging over the hill seems to take up almost the whole horizon. The soldiers scream as they charge and the echoing of footsteps can be heard all around. The leaf shinobi panic, and begin to retreat from the way they came.

The firing line of shinobi cease their bombardment as they too begin to fall back. Eventually the entire leaf army is falling back toward their base camp almost a kilometer away. However, as soon as the army reaches a line of shinobi near the back of the line, they begin to slow their retreat.

_(Music Time: 03:40)_

The scene pans upward from the feet of the leaf shinobi and as soon as the faces of the shinobi becomes visible, the reasoning for the leaf's halt becomes evident.

"Nice try!" One of the shinobi says in a calm and calculated voice, as the eyes of the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan is soon seen glaring across the battlefield, revealing to the leaf army, the cloud villages attempt at deception.

_(Music Time: 03:49)_

The leaf village soon turns around abruptly falling back into ranks like a well-oiled machine ready to do battle with the charging cloud shinobi. The leaf village then wastes no time and they too begin to charge against the cloud army. Soon the entire battlefield is filled with shinobi as they bare down on one another.

Toshida ducks and weaves between the rest of the charging cloud shinobi as he tries to get a better vantage point of his targets. He even runs right between the legs of some of the taller shinobi, showing off his intense speed and agility that may soon prove to be his biggest advantage.

_(Music Time: 04:_27)

The two armies then collide in the middle of the battlefield, knocking one another over as a hail storm of fists, kunai, kicks and shuriken fills the battlefield in a collage of indecipherable humanity. The leaf shinobi strike aimlessly unable to decipher human from clone as numerous bunshins are dispersed upon impact while the real shinobi are left with an element of surprise. A leaf shinobi strikes what turns out to be a clone and he falls victim to a strike from one of the real shinobi in the group. When the leaf shinobi learn of what is going on, they begin attacking randomly trying to filter out the clones. They soon realize the problem with the tactic as they end up hitting glancing blows on real shinobi and are too focused on trying to disperse more clones that they do not give the real shinobi the attention they require, and soon fall victim to their retaliatory actions.

Toshida runs through the crowd on his way toward the Hyuuga's who are easily ignoring the clones and taking out the real shinobi. As Toshida runs by two sets of shinobi fighting, he uses his decorative blades and slashes the Achilles tendon of the two leaf shinobi as he runs by, allowing his comrades to kill the leafs with ease. Toshida does the same to numerous other shinobi, striking and slashing at vulnerable areas as he passes by, using his small size to give his comrades the advantage, never killing any of the shinobi as he strikes at their legs, abdomen shoulders and groin. As Toshida nears the back of the battle, having not once been given any attention by the leafs due to his small stature. He moves quickly and virtually unnoticed by any unoccupied leaf shinobi. Toshida can finally see the marauding Hyuuga's that are decimating the cloud fighting force. He moves in as fast as he can to try and surprise one of the Hyuuga's, choosing one of the younger ones closer to him roughly only twelve years old. Toshida moves in with lightning fast speed and comes up behind the Hyuuga attempting a lateral slash across the base of the shinobi's spine, Toshida closes his eyes almost out of excitement as he awaits the firm resistance of the shinobi's musculature against his blade, and the coarse sound of screams mixed with the rendering of flesh. But that sound is replaced by the clashing of cold steel.

When Toshida opens his eyes, he can see the Hyuuga holding a kunai behind his back, blocking Toshida's strike while the shinobi focuses his attention on successfully slaying the shinobi he has been combating. As the Hyuuga delivers the death blow to his opponent, he turns his head around making eye contact with the surprised Toshida. The Hyuuga's white eyes pierce straight through Toshida, filling him with a fear he has never felt before as he parries away Toshida's blade almost knocking the boy off his feet. The Hyuuga turns to face Toshida and readies himself in the trademark stance of the gentle fist fighting style with a smirk across his face as he addresses Toshida.

"Sorry kid, but this is where you die."


	13. Innocence Lost

_**Toshida Gaiden Chapter 13: Innocence Lost**_

_(Music Continues with "Tenth Man Down" by Nightwish. Starting at 04:27)_

Toshida and the Hyuuga clan member stare off against one another as bodies fall around them in a hideous clash of steel on steel as the battle for Tarawa Creek ensues around them. The Hyuuga charges the young cloud shinobi and Toshida finally has a chance to showcase his training to its full extent. The Hyuuga moves in high with a kunai strike the Toshida ducks underneath easily. Toshida raises his left hand to laterally swipe along the stomach of the attack Hyuuga but is unable to notice the Hyuuga's left hand curled up in a point with his thumb, middle and index fingers pressed hard together. Toshida feels a stinging pain in his left shoulder as the Hyuuga strikes the main tenketsu, cutting off the flow of chakra to Toshida's left arm and temporarily making his arm limp. Toshida is unable to follow through with his strike and the Hyuuga lands a strong knee strike into Toshida's face, knocking him backward but not off his feet. The Hyuuga moves in quickly and Toshida is struck with a hard open palmed strike to the stomach, sending a massive wave of chakra directly into Toshida's liver and kidneys. Toshida's face whitens with pain as he drops to his knees reeling from the pain of the Hyuuga clan's jyuuken upon his vital organs.

The Hyuuga moves in quickly to strike against Toshida and Toshida rises to his feet only to be struck yet again with a thunderous open-handed shot, this time to the chest, sending him back several meters and to the ground causing a heavy fibrillation to his heart and almost killing Toshida instantly.

The young boy clutches at his chest and tries to ignore his spastically beaten heart. He struggles for breath and tries to remain conscious as his heart beats faster and faster with more randomness. The Hyuuga looks down to Toshida and simply shakes his head at the child's broken frame.

"It is a shame kid. Someone your age should not have to die this way." The Hyuuga spins his kunai around once and then readies it in his hand, signifying his intent to kill Toshida. "When we meet one day in the after life, please forgive me. I only do this for my home."

Toshida looks at the white eyes of the leaf shinobi as he glares down on him. Time around Toshida seems to stop as the Hyuuga is the only thing that matters around him, and the moment of his death seems to soon be at hand.

"_Dammit. This isn't good. I can barely feel my arms. Whatever he did to my left arm has stopped any chakra that I had flowing in it. I can't even hold this blade steady. I . . . I don't wanna die . . . I don't wanna die." _Toshida's mind begins to panic and his life flashes before his eyes. From his times in the village of sin, to the fire that consumed it that infamous night, to his early days in the academy, and his memories of Seshen all the way up to the last time he saw Seshen and talked alone with the Raikage. _"Those eyes of his, they can see everything . . . He is totally focused on me . . . I can't . . . I can't beat him like this . . . I don't wanna die!"_

"I'm sorry kid." The Hyuuga says, as he sprints toward Toshida with his kunai at the ready. Toshida can only tremble in fear as his body is weak . . . and his mind even weaker.

As the Hyuuga gets only a few feet away from Toshida, a neighboring scuffle between two shinobi's spill into the path of the Hyuuga. The Hyuuga cannot stop in time and collides with the two shinobi, knocking all three of them to the ground.

"_There's my chance!"_ Toshida shouts to himself, readying one of his blades in his still mobile right hand.

The Hyuuga kicks up to his feet quickly and turns around in time to see Toshida on his knees in front of the Hyuuga. With an almost flawless motion, Toshida kicks up to his feet and then takes another leap off the ground and higher then the Hyuuga's eye level. Toshida kicks forward with both feet and crosses his ankles over one another, clasping the Hyuuga's head in between his knees and shins. Toshida then uses all of his body strength to send his weight backward knocking the Hyuuga off balance and sending him tumbling forward only to land harshly on his back. Toshida then capitalizes on the Hyuuga's prone position and recovers his balance before he dives at the Leaf shinobi, plunging the sharp decorative blade in his hand deep into the ninja's chest.

_(Music Ends)_

The Shinobi lets out no scream, but a gurgled grunt escapes his lungs as the blade severs numerous arteries on its way through his body it is stopped by the hard earth underneath him. Any more force, and Toshida could have passed the entire blade through the shinobi's body. The scene becomes eerily quiet as only the faint sound of kunai clashing can be heard around the two. The young boy's face becomes flushed and blood begins to drip from his mouth as his circulatory and respiratory systems have been severely damaged. The Hyuuga's often always white eyes soon begin to become slightly bloodshot as he struggles for air.

Toshida can only watch in shock as life begins to fade from the boy only a few years older than him. A tear starts to run down the Hyuuga's face as he stares blankly off into the distance. The Hyuuga turns his head slightly to the still stunned Toshida as another tear runs down his cheek. The Hyuuga reaches up quickly with his right arm and clutches Toshida's throat and squeezing hard, hoping to take Toshida to the after life with him. Toshida tries to remove the shinobi's hand, but his previous attack on Toshida's arm has not worn off yet, and his arm has almost no strength in it, surely not enough to remove the Hyuuga's final death grip. Toshida struggles to get out of the Hyuuga's firm grasp but to no avail. He then reaches forward with his good arm and clasps the handle of his blade and then coarsely removes it from the Shinobi's chest, sending a brief geyser of blood out of the shinobi's chest, splashing partially on Toshida's face and chest. The shinobi releases his grip and then just stares blankly into Toshida's eyes as he takes his final breaths. The Hyuuga's body begins to twitch and convulse briefly sending a look of fear and shock into the shinobi's eyes just before he breathes his last breath . . . and all life fades from his eyes.

Toshida can only stare at the boy's lifeless body as the shock of his first kill is almost too much to bare. Toshida slowly lifts his hands up to his face as he can see the crimson blanket of the shinobi's blood covering his hands. Toshida stands to his feet unable to take his eyes off of the Hyuuga's dead body, still blankly staring at him, his eyes now returned to normal as the Hyuuga family's curse seal has faded upon his death. Toshida grabs his blades and readies to get back to the battle, still weary and in shock at what he has done.

As he returns his blades to their sheaths still covered in blood, he is oblivious to a leaf soldier moving in quickly behind him with a long staff in his hands. Toshida gets ready to move but is soon struck down as the leaf shinobi strikes him hard at the base of his hairline with a sharp Naginata, swiping off a section of Toshida's hair in the process. If the angle had been any different, the strike could have taken the boy's head clean off. Toshida falls limp to the ground as his blood and severed hair fall alongside him. Toshida lands next to the Hyuuga's corpse, his head turned so that Toshida now stares at perfect level with the young shinobi he had just killed.

_(Music: Queue: Sadness and Sorrow (Piano Version) from the Naruto OST)_

"_I'm so cold . . ." _Toshida mutters to himself as his eyes get heavy. _"I'm sorry . . . I didn't want to kill you . . . I didn't want to hurt anyone . . . _why . . . why am I here?"

"_Why are we fighting here? Why? Why did I kill that boy?" _Toshida looks around him and can see the battle continuing to unfold. No sound can be heard and Toshida can only watch as his countrymen fall to the ground around him. Shinobi after shinobi succumb to wounds or blood loss and fall to the ground where they give their final breaths. A leaf shinobi falls to the ground and is tackled by two cloud shinobi who then stab the shinobi to death with kunai before being struck down themselves, by a hail of shuriken from other leaf shinobi.

"_Why was I trained for this? Why were we all trained for this?" _A tear falls from Toshida's eye as he looks on to see both sides taking heavy casualties. Bodies fall around him and their killers soon fall after then. At his young age, Toshida is already learning to horrors of war . . . the life that is the shinobi's.

"Stop . . ." Toshida tries to say out loud. "Everybody just stop . . . Stop fighting . . ." Toshida's voice cracks as more tears flow from his eyes and the young boy soon cries as the scene around him tears at his fragile heart. "Please! STOP FIGHTING!" Toshida shouts as his voice cracks and he continues to cry intensely. He tries to claw his way across the ground but finds no strength in his arms and he only claws deeper into the dirt. "Please . . . just stop!" Toshida's sobs and pleading go unheard as the bodies continue to fall around him. He continues to try and claw his way across the dirt but his knees get no traction across the wet grass that is no more blood and mud, and his hands continue to just reach out to his comrades, as if trying to use his own hands to separate all the combatants.

Toshida's wound then begins to get the best of him, and his body falls weak. He can no longer continue crawling in the mud . . . he can no longer plead out loud to those around him . . . he can no longer hope for it to stop.

Toshida's mind races as his body slowly begins to give out, succumbing to the severe trauma afflicting his brain stem. _"I don't wanna die . . . I don't wanna die here . . . I wanna go home Raikage-sama . . . father . . . Seshen . . . I'm sorry . . . I don't wanna die here . . . I want to live . . . I want to come home and just live a normal life with all of you. I don't want to have to hate anyone . . . or train to kill someone." _Synapsesin Toshida's brain fire off randomly, putting numerous memories and images of his family, friends and associates in his minds eye.Finally, an image of his mother comes to his mind and he can remember her words about innocence and choosing his own path in life.

"_I killed someone mom . . . and now . . . someone has killed me. I'm sorry . . . I let you down. I lost . . . my innocence didn't I mom? I . . . I just want to go back . . . and change it all. I want . . . to go . . . home . . ."_

_(Music Ends)_

Then suddenly, a deep and dark voice echoes in Toshida's mind. **_"I will help make it happen."_**

Toshida's eyes widen as the frightening voice echoes in his mind sending fear through Toshida's entire body. _"Who . . . who are you?"_ Toshida asks._ "Where are you? I can hear you . . . in my mind."_

"_**I am everything that you are capable of kid . . . I am the one that can do all the things you are afraid to do."**_

"_But . . . how? How is that possible? You are supposed to be me?"_

"**_You have a hell of a lot of power inside you kid . . . only NOW have you been willing to listen to it. But you have no idea how to use this power! So now . . . it's time for the power . . . to use you!"_**

_(Music: Queue: Heavy Violence from the Naruto OST III)_

Toshida consciousness then fades and his eyes glow green with the Ryuugan eye as the essence inside of him that had until that moment remained dormant, begins to surface. The wound on the back of his neck begins to heal as a thin layer of steam rises from the wound. Toshida's hair begins to split along their follicles, disbanding the dark black and revealing strands of pure white from the base of his skull. His skin begins to harden and crack until the surface has become like a set of light green scales. His eyes close as a wave of green chakra lifts him off the ground slowly, and his nails protrude outward like a set of talons and his teeth become serrated and sharp.

The massive chakra emanating from the young boy can be felt throughout the entire battlefield as for the first time . . . the dragon is awake and in full force.

"What . . . the hell is that?" One of the stunned Hyuuga shinobi asks out loud as the battle around him begins to come to a complete halt. Everyone in the battlefield now focuses all of their attention on the shining green orb of chakra that is being raised from the ground.

_(Music Time: 02:00)_

Toshida is now up right on the battlefield with his feet no longer touching the ground. His head hands in front of him as green chakra begins to form around his shoulders and along his back, before sprouting out in a series of long tentacle like protrusions from his shoulders, eight in all that spread out like a set of perverse wings. The chakra then flares up around Toshida's head, incinerating the cloth of his head protector instantly before the metal insignia can even begin to fall to the ground.

Toshida then raises his head up, and the dragon's eyes then glare across the battlefield striking fear into the hearts of all those that make contact with them. The eyes then glow bright as a smile comes over the face of the now transformed Toshida. His tongue protrudes from his mouth revealing a new split and forked look as he likes his lips, letting a thing stream of saliva to drop to the ground as a few drops are slung into the air.

_(Music Ends)_

"_**It's been too long, since I last tasted the fresh air. And even longer . . . since I tasted the sweet texture of flesh and bone."**_

Before the shinobi around Toshida can react, his chakra formed wings spread out and extend across the battle field, impaling over a dozen shinobi in the blink of an eye. Toshida then lunges forward and slashes the throat of two more shinobi with a single swing before he moves in closer and takes an inhumanly sized bite out of the side of the poor shinobi's neck, tearing off more than half of the shinobi's throat before he consumes it whole.

Both the cloud and leaf then waste no more time silently debating the purpose of the perverse creature and both sides then attack quickly. Kunai and shuriken fly at the beast from all angles but nothing is able to pierce the dragons iron-like hide. The cloud village shinobi unleash numerous lightning and ice jutsu's at the beast, knocking it off balance as the leafs move in to attack with taijutsu.

"_**Raiton: Shuurai no jutsu!" **(Lightning bolt technique)_

"**_Hyouton: Hieaisukoki no jutsu_** _(chilling ice breath technique)_

One leaf shinobi kicks high on the beast and connects with the left cheek of young boy. The kick that normally would have been able to crack rock with a single strike, does not even manage to wipe the sadistic smirk from the boy's face. The boy clamps down on the shinobi's leg with his sharp claws, causing the shinobi to cry out in pain, before his shin bone is broken in half and the rest of his leg torn off from the knee down. Toshida's tentacle like wings then plunge into the chest of the legless shinobi flooding the dragon's chakra into the shinobi's body. The dragon's chakra works on such a different level and frequency than regular human chakra. The dragon's tentacle like wings wrap around the very soul of the shinobi inside his body before yanking the shinobi's essence out of his now lifeless frame in a blue swirling orb that echoes with the screams of fear and pain of the shinobi's last moments of life, Toshida then incorporates the shinobi's soul into his own being as easily as if he were putting on a shirt.

The shinobi of the leaf and cloud look on in horror as they realize that they fight nothing of this world. The fight a monster than shows no remorse . . . and has no limit to what it is capable of.

Over the next ten minutes, shinobi after shinobi would try to kill the beast, by themselves, or in a large group of thirty or more, but all of them are soon cut down by the dragon's incredible power. Dozens of shinobi charge in fast against the dragon from all directions, striking high, striking low and striking head on against the young boy. The boy blocks each of the shinobi's attacks, punching one shinobi in the chest, fracturing his sternum and puncturing his left ventricle causing him to bleed internally. Another shinobi strikes high with a spinning kick, connecting directly with Toshida's head causing his head to flinch forward and straight into the tip of a leaf shinobi's spear. The spear pierces the cheek of Toshida and impales his head, the tip of the spear protruding out the back of Toshida's skull. Toshida looks to the spear man and clasps his throat with his hand. One of the tentacles moves through Toshida's arm and straight into the shinobi, removing his spirit and harnessing it in Toshida's body. Toshida then grasps the spear and removes it easily from his face as the wound quickly closes.

A large detachment of shinobi move in to attack Toshida armed with swords, spears, kunai and naginata. Toshida only smiles as he raises his hands in the seal of the tiger to his lips. Toshida takes in a deep breath that collects in his chest before he readies to exhale, mixing his oxygen with the dragon's volatile chakra.

"**_Ryuu Kisoku!" _**(Dragon's breath) With one firm exhalation, the boy unleashes a massive stream of green fire that spreads outward in a massive jet-like emission from Toshida's mouth. The wave sweeps across the battlefield incinerating everything in its path. Many shinobi are vaporized before they can even attempt to run away from the inevitable demise staring them down. As the fire stream stops more then three quarters of the entire shinobi fighting force lie dead or dying.

Four shinobi both cloud and leaf begin running away from the slaughter in a vain attempt to escape. With a quick flash Toshida then appears in front of them blocking their path. The first Toshida strikes high with his kunai only to have his wrist clutched by Toshida. The second shinobi moves in low with a sweeping kick to Toshida's legs that Toshida then blocks with the bottom of his foot. The next two shinobi both move into Toshida's mid section with another attempt at a kunai stab. Toshida clutches one of the kunai blades with his right hand and bats the second shinobi away with the first shinobi, lifting him completely off the ground and hurling him at his comrade. Toshida then uses the kunai to stab the first shinobi through the wrist, stabbing straight through some of his carpel bones. The sweeping shinobi leaps up and strikes Toshida in the face with a rising kick knocking the beast's head back and releasing his grip on the first shinobi. As the shinobi's foot comes back down after the kick, his leg is caught in Toshida's mouth as the dragon bites down hard on the shinobi's Achilles tendon severing it instantly. The dragon consumes the fresh meat for sustenance as it watches the injured shinobi try to squirm away.

The shinobi with the kunai through his wrist delivers a drop kick to Toshida's side knocking him only slightly off balance before he drops to the ground. Toshida needs only to perform a soccer style kick to the ribs of the shinobi to send him catapulting across the area more then twenty meters before he hits the ground with a punctured lung and ruptured spleen. The shinobi screams out in agony as his internal injuries and bleeding will eventually lead to his death. Toshida turns his attention back to rest of the shinobi that he had only moments before sampled. The shinobi tries to rise to his feet but without a vital part of his leg, he finds the task more then challenging. Toshida reaches out with clawed hand and clutches the frightened shinobi by the front of his jacket and lifts him clean off the ground and into the air. The shinobi struggles to release Toshida's grip on his form but it is all to no avail as Toshida laughs at the shinobi's futile efforts.

"Please!" The shinobi pleads, "I have a family back home . . .a son. Not even your age! "Please don't kill me."

Toshida's laughing stops as the shinobi's words spark something deep in his psyche. The green glowing eyes of the Ryuugan begins to fade away and amongst the cold whitish green tinge of his scale-like skin, Toshida's innocent brown eyes return.

"What . . . what's going on?" Toshida asks in a dazed and confused voice. "Who . . . who are you?" Toshida quickly drops the shinobi from his grip as soon as he notices the situation. Before Toshida can think or say anymore the voice in his head becomes louder then ever before like a hammer in Toshida's mind. He clutches at the sides of his head grimacing in agony as the voice echoes throughout his mind.

"**_You are no longer in control child. It is up to me now to finish what you were unable to even start!"_**

Toshida's eyes are forced back to the green tinge of the ryuugan just as the two previously attacked shinobi come up behind him. Toshida's tentacle like wings then shoot outward behind him and impale the two attacking shinobi with all their strength, removing both of their souls quicker then ever before. Toshida then reaches down without a second thought and tears the throat of the shinobi he just released, removing his larynx and a portion of his esophagus in a single attack. The shinobi lets out a grotesque gurgle as his life fades from his body very quickly, his soul being removed from his body by the tentacles spouting from Toshida's back.

Toshida then looks around the battlefield at the different contingencies of shinobi attempting to flee the area, and those who lie dead and dying. **_"So many souls here today . . . I think I am strong enough now . . . to claim them all."_**

The dragon closes Toshida's eyes as he concentrates all of his power around him and into the tentacle like protrusions from his back. The tentacle-like wings more then double in size and girth as they spread out from Toshida's body. Toshida raises his arms with his hands poised to the sky as his wings raise in unison along with him. Toshida opens his eyes as he looks across the battlefield and his wings churn and swirl around him, and with the clenching of his fists, the tentacles shoot outward seeking any and all souls that they may find. When they find a soul that has not passed on, the wings impale the prone shinobi and without removing the tentacle, extent and seek out the next target.

Kakashi can only watch as everyone and everything around him turns to ash and empty shells of human beings. Off in the distance the sun begins to set behind the dark black silhouette of the dragon possessed Toshida walks along the ashes of the battlefield, cinders and flames spreading across like leaves blowing in the wind. His whitish green tentacle-like wings spread out across the entire battlefield consuming souls left and right as the glowing green eyes of the Ryuugan glare across the vast wasteland of ash and broken bodies. Kakashi's vision slowly fades, and he collapses to the ground unconscious.

When Kakashi comes to, he looks around to see the scattered bodies of the fallen shinobi lying all around him. The fires of the battlefield have died out and the smoldering ashes are all that remain. The battlefield is filled with a thick white smoke that has spread for hundreds of meters in all directions, impairing vision in all directions and limiting Kakashi's line of sight to only a few meters. Moments later, the smoke begins to clear as if just for Kakashi, opening up a clear line of sight to an unconscious Toshida lying on the ground face down, his shinobi outfit tattered and torn and covered in blood.

Toshida soon begins to wake up from his slumber, tired and disorientated. His vision is blurry and his head pounds as if it were caught in a vice. He stumbles along blindly in the battlefield for a few moments before tripping and falling flat on his face. When Toshida turns around to see what he tripped over he can only see a dark silhouette on the ground. As he moves in closer, the smoke clears revealing a dead cloud shinobi. His eyes still wide open with a large gash in his throat, as if something had clawed through his esophagus. Toshida goes into a nervous panic and gets to his feet only to soon trip over another body. This time a leaf shinobi that has been reduced almost to a cinder with the exception of his head.

Toshida surveys' the area around him as the smoke begins to clear, revealing a battlefield riddled with the bodies of massacred shinobi. Toshida's eyes widen as he has no memory of what has happened. Toshida drops to his knees trembling in fear as his stomach begins to churn, as the smell and sight are too much for his young body to handle. He looks at his hands to see a thick coating of still wet blood soaking every inch. He rises to his feet and runs back toward the creek to wash the blood from his hands as the sight makes him sick to his stomach.

When he arrives at the creek, he quickly submerges his trembling hands into the water, sending ripples through the calm water of the creek. As he begins to calm down, the ripple's fade revealing his reflection in front of him. His face is also covered with blood and his hair hangs mated and damp also drenched with blood, giving it the appearance of sickening crimson dread locks. He quickly ducks his head completely in the water in an effort to remove the crimson mask on his face, nervously wiping his face and ringing out his hair under water to find some source of cleanliness in the sickening scene around him. As he quickly removes his head from the water sending a spout of water behind him as he whips his hair back behind him and begins to ring out the remaining blood with his still trembling hands. He spits of some water that ended up in his mouth back into the pond that has now turned red with the blood he has washed away. His attention is soon drawn up the stream to dozens of bodies and body parts that are floating in the water that he just used to cleanse himself. The thought and sight of all going on around him is the final straw for Toshida and he loses control of his bodily functions, and vomits profusely on the ground behind him.

After a minute of unleashing his insides upon the battlefield, Toshida can feel something in his mouth on the outside of his teeth that is rubbing against his gums. As he reaches in his gullet to remove the object, he can feel the course fiber texture of muscle tissue. He then removes the piece of tissue, revealing a thick tendon of muscle tissue ripped apart at both ends. The sight of the disgusting piece of flesh sends a storm of flashes and memories back into Toshida's mind as all of his atrocity's flood before his mind's eye in an instant. He soon realized the flesh in his mouth is the partially digestive piece of an unfortunate shinobi's Achilles tendon that Toshida tore away with his own teeth. That final thought is enough to make Toshida stumble into another tirade of intense vomiting.

"Wh-what . . . wh-what have I done?" A teary eyed and distraught Toshida says to himself. The tears flow from his eyes and he does what any child would do when they know they are in trouble . . . he runs away. Never looking back as he cries out loud like the child that he is at heart. No training could ever prepare a child from the taking of a single life, let alone the massacring of hundreds. "M-Mommy! I'm sorry . . . I . . . I'm SORRY!" Toshida screams as he runs with his eyes closed trying not to look at any of the shinobi as he runs home. But deep in his mind, he can hear all of the voices of the deceased, screaming in agony and anger as their last moments of life are preserved in Toshida's subconsciousness.

Kakashi stands in shock at all that has happened in front of from, and the site soon brings tears to his eyes as the site of all his slain comrades strewn about is too much, even for the seasoned leaf jounin to withstand. The scenery makes Kakashi sick to his stomach as everything around him seems so real. The sight's, the smells and even the feeling of the stale wind blowing across his face all seem as if they are happening to him. Kakashi then hears a voice coming from behind him as he watches the young Toshida running as fast as he can, crying and wailing at the top of his lungs, petrified of what he has become, and deeply remorseful of what he has done.

"I ran for almost three days trying to get away from this place." The older Toshida says, causing Kakashi to turn around to face him. Kakashi wants nothing more then to strike the sin shinobi, but finds himself un able to move in Toshida's memories. "I had become a monster . . . I had always been a monster . . . but it wasn't until that day that I was finally forced to see just how much of a monster I was . . . more then five hundred shinobi died on the battlefield that day. More then a third of them fell . . . because of me." Toshida lowers his head an offers a silent prayer of mourning that cannot be heard by Kakashi's ears.

As he opens his eyes and looks yet again across the battlefield he addresses Kakashi for the last time. "Now you may understand why I have been hesitant to tell show you what happened here. This was the day that I became everything that I strive to destroy. Not since that day has the beast taken so much control over my actions . . . and not since then had either village suffered such a loss. I was the only one to walk away from the battlefield unharmed. Anyone else that survived the battle . . . died from their injuries within a week. Every survivor would live long enough to tell their own cryptic tale of some kid from the cloud village that killed his own comrades as well as his enemies . . . that's why they came to refer to me only as "The Butcher." "The Butcher of Blood River," as Tarawa creek would run red with the blood of the dead for weeks."

Toshida turns to face Kakashi, "The war between the cloud and leaf stopped immediately, and the Raikage then sent one of his adjutants to the leaf village a week later in to sign the peace treaty between the two villages. The Raikage had heard of the exploits of the Hyuuga clan on the battlefield. It was because of them that our forces were unsuccessful in frightening the leaf from the battlefield. The Raikage wanted to learn the secret of their doujutsu at any cost. So he tried to sneak in a hidden agenda along with the peace treaty. One that from what I hear was . . . less then successful." Tears still run from Kakashi's eyes and his fists clench so tight that his nails pierce through his gloves and blood begins to flow from the palms of his hand.

Toshida notices the expression in Kakashi's eyes, and can see the blood flowing from his hand and he is quick to offer his final words on the matter. "I understand how you feel about me Kakashi. I stole your comrades from you . . . you wish nothing more then to avenge their deaths. Believe me when I say that I do not blame you. But also learn from me . . . there is nothing . . . that can bring them back."

Kakashi's vision once again begins to blur and he falls to the ground as the surrounding area returns to the present time. Kakashi's eyes open quickly with the tears he shed while visiting Toshida's memory, still running down his face. He quickly leans up and can see Toshida leaning prone against a tree several meters away from him, struggling for breath and holding his side as using the Ryuugan eye for such an intense purpose and for such a long time is more draining then any of his other techniques. It tempts the dragon's essence more then Toshida is willing to risk, which is why Toshida has only used the technique to that extent a few times before.

"So . . ." Toshida says, as he gasps for air. "Didn't you want to kill me?"


End file.
